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“The Shaping of the American Mind: The Diverging Influences of the College Degree & Civic Learning on American Beliefs”

From the Intercollegiate Studies Institute:

Conventional wisdom holds that there is a strong connection between how much people know and how much college education they receive—the more college, the more knowledge. ISI’s research, however, demonstrates that on most campuses, this seemingly obvious correlation is quite marginal where knowledge of America’s history and institutions is concerned.

In 2006 and 2007, ISI administered a sixty-question multiple-choice exam on knowledge of American history, government, foreign affairs, and market economics to over 14,000 college freshmen and seniors nationwide. In both years, the average freshman and average senior failed the exam.

In 2008, ISI expanded the field of study to measure the average independent impact of college on the acquisition of civic literacy among Americans of all ages. A random, representative sample of 2,508 American adults was surveyed to allow comparisons between those with and without college degrees. Respondents were asked thirty-three questions (click here to see the questions and take the quiz yourself), many drawn from U.S. naturalization exams and U.S. Department of Education high school progress tests (NAEP). Seventy-one percent of Americans failed this basic test. The overall average score was only 49%, with college graduates also failing at 57%.

If earning a bachelor’s degree does not significantly impact civic knowledge, what impact does college have on civic life? To further explore that question, ISI also asked its 2,508 respondents whether they strongly agreed, somewhat agreed, were neutral, somewhat disagreed, or strongly disagreed with each of thirty-nine propositions that covered a broad range of public issues and subjects, including American ideals and institutions, higher education, immigration and diversity, culture and society, religion and faith, and market economy and public policy.

Multivariate regression analyses allowed ISI to compare the independent influence that earning a college degree, acquiring more civic knowledge, and other factors in a person’s life exert on their views on some of the perennial controversies of our age. That is the focus of this year’s report.

How does graduating from college or gaining civic knowledge change someone’s public views?

My guess is, most of you already know the answer to such a question. But go ahead and read the major findings of the study anyway.

Then, when you’re finished, breathe a sigh of relief. Because only patriarchal oppressors caught up in the moribund epistemology of the debunked Enlightenment paradigm even care about such nonsense.

The real value of an university education is in learning how to turn any socio-political negative into an indictment of the blinkered hateyness of the founders (and those teabagging cousinfuckers who immorally insist we follow their dictates) — and to do so quickly enough that you can finish your paper in time for the next “Jello shots for health care reform” party, sponsored by Student for a Progressiver Tomorrow.

318 Replies to ““The Shaping of the American Mind: The Diverging Influences of the College Degree & Civic Learning on American Beliefs””

  1. JD says:

    teabagging cousinfuckers – I am sooooo stealing that one.

    So, college actually makes people dummerer.

  2. Joe says:

    While you certainly learn some things in college (engineers, physicists, chemists, etc. generally learn quite a lot, but some degrees the results are more spotty), most people quickly realize that they do not know very much practical knowledge when they get out in the real world and have to do an actual job. Well, at least most rational people quickly learn that. A few of the basket cases go back into the womb of academia (not that they are all bad in academia, just most of them).

  3. Joe says:

    American history and civics is probably one of the most perverted twisted areas of study in colleges and universities. What has been done to rewrite the history of this country is what I call pornography (in the very bad sense of that word).

  4. bh says:

    29 is somewhat off (free-riderism is a result of public goods, not its actual definition) and the phrasing of #30 is dicey (“ought” is confused with “would”).

    Other than those minor quibbles, I’m shocked that the average is anywhere near 50% for any group. This is as much an indictment of high school civics as college.

    Though, to my embarrassment, I didn’t know #7. I blame my love of teabagging my hot second cousin.

  5. Pablo says:

    I thought #33 was a bit odd. Still, I pulled 31 out of 33, and I’m no Rhodes Scholar.

  6. University of Life says:

    How did they work out the causation / correlation issue?

  7. sdferr says:

    I agree with you on 29 bh. 30 pissed me off a little, but that ’cause I’m still open to the possibility that government spending needn’t go up, but holding steady wasn’t there… so given the phrasing as a reflection of what is generally acknowledge to do, there isn’t much choice in the alternatives presented. 33 is creepy.

  8. University of Life says:

    “With hard work and perseverance anyone can succeed in America.”

    I like how this drops as one perseveres in their academic work.

  9. bh says:

    Yeah, 33 is odd and the answer they want is wrong with their phrasing. With no per capita or average language, any one individual may pay less or more than spending even if the aggregate is equal.

    You know who is a Rhodes Scholar, btw? Kris Kristofferson, that’s who.

  10. sdferr says:

    Was football his sport? Just guessing, flanker or wideout — please don’t let him be the f’in q-back…

  11. JD says:

    bh – 33 was the one I missed. Lousy question. The “correct” answer on 29 just reflects typical dopey leftist thinking.

  12. Pablo says:

    My thinking exactly, bh. And “government debt is zero” seems to be a correct answer, though they don’t see it that way.

  13. sdferr says:

    The tricksy bit is their use of “debt”, since we can’t see the past years. Don’t like.

  14. JHo says:

    Perspective is cool. Perspective is cool because eventually it reveals some eras as dark ages of reason.

    Remember back when we actually believed a ton of stupid, contradictory, unproductive shit? Dude.

  15. Nishi the Astral Walker says:

    “the blinkered hateyness of the founders”
    ???
    what on earth are you talking about now?
    we live in a democratic meritocracy…..a Republic, not a democracy….”a Democracy is a Perversion of a Republic”…a democracy is mob-rule and populist demagogues (see Palin, Sarah).
    Thom Jefferson would have voted for Obama as an exemplar of his natural aristoi.
    Do you have an idea for a better basis for electoral selection than merit?
    Talent and virtue.
    Thats what she said.

  16. JD says:

    STFU, idiot.

  17. bh says:

    Of course, if you then look at the correlation to their propositions, I’d probably come off as an arch-liberal myself. Undoubtedly caused by college, no less. Though I’m no such thing.

    Can everyone succeed in America? No, obviously not. That’s a conservative tenet?

    Is the Bible the Word of God? Who knows. That’s a conservative tenet?

  18. Pablo says:

    Thomas Jefferson would have owned Obama. Do fuck off, nishi.

  19. sdferr says:

    Here’s a Cafe Hayek link to a talk at Mercatus Center by Stephen Davies, historian, on where he thinks we are and aren’t. Punchy stuff, for fun.

  20. LBascom says:

    OK, I haven’t taken the test yet (don’t give answers
    in the comments!), I’m still reading the report. I came across this though, and I Found it VERY illuminating.

    The analyses show that the influence civic knowledge exerts on a person’s views is not only broader than the influence exerted by a college degree, but it also appears to produce a more independent frame of mind.

    Wow. The more you understand what the Framers gave us, the more personal independence becomes a priority. Who’ld a thought…

  21. JHo says:

    Remember back when you actually believed a ton of stupid, contradictory, unproductive shit, nuggie? About 3/5 @ 9:39 am.

  22. bh says:

    If Obama is an example of our meritocracy at work, then I’m the Pope.

    Kiss the ring, nishi. Kiss the ring.

  23. JHo says:

    Is the Bible the Word of God? Who knows. That’s a conservative tenet?

    Sure. The irony is that if the morons would only think it through it would be a secprogg tenet too.

  24. bh says:

    I originally thought of owned as pwnage with Pablo’s #18. Then I remembered, oh yeah, slavery.

  25. sdferr says:

    When the meritocracy starts believing it must lie to the little people “for their own good” we’re going to have a problem. Oh, look, we’ve got a problem. Funny, one might have thought the smart people could see that coming.

  26. JHo says:

    No sweat, sdferr. They’ll get it in the end.

  27. Nishi the Astral Walker says:

    Pablow…
    semiotic this!

    For I agree with you that there is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talents. Formerly bodily powers gave place among the aristoi. But since the invention of gunpowder has armed the weak as well as the strong with missile death, bodily strength, like beauty, good humor, politeness and other accomplishments, has become but an auxiliary ground of distinction. There is also an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents; for with these it would belong to the first class. The natural aristocracy I consider as the most precious gift of nature for the instruction, the trusts, and government of society. And indeed it would have been inconsistent in creation to have formed man for the social state, and not to have provided virtue and wisdom enough to manage the concerns of the society. May we not even say that that form of government is the best which provides the most effectually for a pure selection of these natural aristoi into the offices of government? The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government, and provision should be made to prevent it’s ascendancy.

    What do you propose using other than societal metrics for “talent” and “virtue”?
    Like, academic achievement, education, intellectual qualities, informed policy positions, public speaking…..umm …..speaking the truth?
    :)

  28. JHo says:

    Can’t he just copy/paste something, nuggie?

  29. Nishi the Astral Walker says:

    “Remember back when you actually believed a ton of stupid, contradictory, unproductive shit, nuggie?”

    when i was a “conservative”?

  30. Pablo says:

    I propose that you stop spewing your unwelcome drivel here. Meritocracy, you see.

  31. sdferr says:

    In what universe is speaking the truth a condition of office? Seems more like the one thing excluded to me.

  32. Entropy says:

    33 doesn’t explictly spell out ‘by average’ or ‘per capita’, but you know it has to be so by process of exclusion. All the other answers are explicitly wrong. If spending equals revenue, that means the budget is balanced, it does not mean the government isn’t still carrying 10 quadrillion debt from the year before.

    But that’s just the moribund epistemology of patriarchal oppressor’s debunked Enlightment paradigm talking.

    32/33. I missed the damn puritans think all humanity is sinful thing. I went with oppose war, which would be more a quaker thing I guess. I knew it wasn’t religious freedom, seeing as how they skipped out on the Netherlands where they had it, because it was too tolerant of too much for their tastes.

  33. JD says:

    Reading TOTUS … what a fucking krazy genocidal bint that nishit thingie is.

  34. LBascom says:

    “Thomas Jefferson would have owned Obama”

    Not true.

    Jefferson may have bought some of Obamas product from Kenya however…

  35. JHo says:

    when i was a “conservative”?

    Actually, back on 3/5 @ 9:51 am when you foolishly and unsuccessfully elected to at least tacitly associate Obarky with truth-telling.

  36. Nishi the Astral Walker says:

    so sad…..
    this place used to be cooltown, now its just crazytown.
    bai.

  37. Pablo says:

    Wow. It’s better already.

  38. bh says:

    As Pope, I hereby declare nishi to have the mind of a child and as such she’s morally blameless for her advocacy.

    Obama represents the elevation of merit. Heh.

  39. JHo says:

    Obarky the “Astral Walker”. S. McLaine for VP Astral Walker, Luke. Meadowlark Globewalker. Consider astral rejection, nuggie.

    I’ll deny ever saying it, nuggie, but you’re goofy.

  40. bh says:

    Entropy, actually, by process of exclusion, we weren’t left with a correct answer.

  41. Entropy says:

    The ‘How to take a test’ test.

    http://www.drunkmenworkhere.org/170

    I can’t tell you how many Freshman english lit tests I passed without ever reading the book because I just read the test, and the answer to #4 was part of the question of #33.

    It’s like Socratic Cliff Notes.

  42. JHo says:

    ^ Now that, that is cooltown. Bai!

  43. JD says:

    kthxbye. Apparently the orderlies were about to catch her.

  44. Squid says:

    The grounds of this are virtue and talents.

    I’m pretty sure old TJ would have written Obama off on this basis alone. Chalk up another fail for Walker, Astral Ranger.

  45. Jeff G. says:

    John Cole riding a recumbent bike — that’s the new cooltown. And that’s where you’ll find me.

    I’m bringing cole slaw.

  46. JHo says:

    Speechmaking, Squid. The man is gifted.

  47. Bob Reed says:

    Thom Jefferson would have voted for Obama as an exemplar of his natural aristoi.

    Oh man, I laughed so long and hard over this one my ribs hurt. Jefferson would have recognized Obama for the poseur and wannabe statist tyrant that he is…

    And the one about Palin being a demagogue? Compared to your man Obama? The man promised “free” health care, tax cuts for 95% of Americans, who was going to stop the seas from rising, spawn all the cheap renewable energy we wanted at the snap of his fingers, and who fretted about people voting “against thier economic interest” (i.e. refusing to be bribed with their neighbors money)?

    So “chicken in every pot” Obama is aristoi, and Palin is a demagogue???

    When will you be doing your show in the Catskills? I wanna make my reservation early, and hear some more of that comedy gold…

  48. JD says:

    Bob Reed is soooooooo much nicer than I. Get bent, nishit.

  49. JHo says:

    When will you be doing your show in the Catskills?

    Tonight, under cover of darkness and in the hush of cool, early hours, you need only gaze Skywalkerward, Bob Reed.

  50. Entropy says:

    bh, you’re left with one answer that depends on interpretation, and 3 answers that flat don’t work regardless.

    That answer works if you interpret it a certain way. The other answers never work. The ‘debt’ answer may be true in a certain situation, if you assume a certain situation, but it’s still not a true logical statement. If y = y + (x-z) and x = z, then y = 0.

    The per capita answer can be a true logical statement. If x = z, then x/y = z/y. It could also be read to mean if x = z, then a = b, but you know you musn’t interpret it that way because it would leave you with no correct answer and break the test.

  51. JHo says:

    And jamming home “healthcare reform” against popular will. That is the action of some ThosJeff aristoi right there.

  52. Squid says:

    Back to the original topic: I find some comfort in the finding that civics knowledge (more properly termed civics beliefs, in this case) is so shallow and superficial. It’s not so much that people are programmed with false data, as they are simply left in the dark. What little they’ve gained seems to come mostly from conventional wisdom and peer pressure.

    My comfort in this comes from the notion that it’s easier to teach people from scratch than it is to deprogram them. Still, we’ve a lot of work to do to make people aware of this country’s founding principles. Fortunately, the ideals of liberty and opportunity still have some resonance with a lot of folks.

  53. bh says:

    I wonder if nishi realizes that cooltown has a big guy at the door with the sole task of keeping people like her out?

    Try WoWtown or furryfetishtown, nishi, you’ll find your people there.

  54. dicentra says:

    81.82% Sheesh.

    But yeah, 30 and 33 are messed up.

  55. Squid says:

    Speechmaking, Squid. The man is gifted.

    If only he’d stuck to his strengths, and gone into broadcasting. He could have been a hell of a news anchor.

  56. bh says:

    Entropy, I take your point and I used your same logic when I chose that answer. I’m nitpicking though. It’s fun.

    But, to continue the nitpicking fun, kinda wrong is still wrong unless you’re taking the horseshoes and hand grenades quiz If you have a round hole, an octagon is closer than a rectangle, but it still won’t fit.

  57. Bob Reed says:

    Obama lacks both talent and virtue. His only accomplishments are a succession of popular elections, where he either managed to disqualify his opponents or obfuscate his past so completely as to offer a blank slate for people to project their wishes upon.

    We still don’t have access to any of his college records; which most Presidents of the modern era have had to produce while running for office, but as with many details the press gave him a free pass…

    Because he belongs to the multi-culti aristoi; a member of a preffered victim-hood group, of the “correct” ideology, who then automatically recieves absolute moral authority as well as the mantle of “brilliance”.

    Sure wish we’d known more about his past, as his actions as President haven’t been too brilliant…

  58. sdferr says:

    That Obama dude’s hollows have hollows.

  59. University of life says:

    “29 is somewhat off (free-riderism is a result of public goods, not its actual definition)”

    I assumed they were going by the economist’s definition of public good, which is that its non-rivalrous and non-excludable.

    “With no per capita or average language, any one individual may pay less or more than spending even if the aggregate is equal.”

    I understood “per person” to mean “per capita.”

    However, I think the most interesting response to this survey, since they offer no actual evidence of causation, is to invert the causal relationship their correlation finds. So lets just say that, for example, agreeing that “The Bible is the Word of God” or that “With hard work and perseverance anyone can succeed in America” makes it less likely you will go to college.

    Now these guys sound like a bunch of assholes.

  60. LBascom says:

    “Is the Bible the Word of God? Who knows. That’s a conservative tenet?”

    I think that first a ambiguous question. I mean, I don’t think you can learn much by the answer.

    As a Christian, I hesitate. I believe the Bible contains the word of God, but I think the Bible as a whole is best regarded as a revelation of God, rather then the word. However, John said Jesus was the word, so I could see how someone may answer that the Bible is. The “word” can be metaphorical.

    Also, as anyone that is not a Christian is automatically going to answer no, I don’t see any way that you can determine whether you are a conservative from the answer, unless you believe you must be a Christian to be a conservative.

    That’s just not true, though a greater percentage of conservatives are probably religious/i>.

  61. Bob Reed says:

    Ok enough about O!, back to the topic at hand.

  62. dicentra says:

    Thom Jefferson would have voted for Obama as an exemplar of his natural aristoi.

    ::chokes::

    What Bob Reed said: “Oh man, I laughed so long and hard over this one my ribs hurt. Jefferson would have recognized Obama for the poseur and wannabe statist tyrant that he is…”

    Do you have an idea for a better basis for electoral selection than merit?

    What constitutes merit? A nice crease in the pants? A really cool vibe? Styrofoam columns in the background? A couple of degrees from an Ivy?

    Thomas Jefferson hated elitists, ya fool. Hated the snobbery of the class system and its tendency to keep smart people down only because of their parentage. He’d have been horrified by you and outraged by Obama’s slick little cadre of smooth tyrants.

    He’d be deep center in any Tea Party rally, yo. Holding the biggest sign.

  63. University of Life says:

    ““Is the Bible the Word of God? Who knows. That’s a conservative tenet?””

    Doesn’t take that much chutzpah to make that claim.

  64. Kevin B says:

    Multivariate regression analyses allowed ISI to compare the independent influence that earning a college degree, acquiring more civic knowledge, and other factors in a person’s life exert on their views on some of the perennial controversies of our age.

    In case any of you cuzfuckers were wondering what “Multivariate regression analyses” involves, Professor William M Briggs offers this example.

  65. bh says:

    Don’t think you’re getting my thrust with either point, U of L. When I say somewhat off or dicey, I’m quibbling with their word choices. For instance, as to a public good, I’d have given a more definitional answer. (Yes, I know what the economist means by public good. Without checking wiki.) And, again, per capita, the term, carries a connotation of averaging that per person might not.

  66. Entropy says:

    University of Life makes a good point I thought of briefly though. Level of civics knowledge, especially if it’s not acquired or required from conventional education (so what, it’s self-taught?), is a self selecting sample.

    Maybe learning civics makes you more likely to believe American values, or maybe believing American values makes you more likely to bother to learn civics.

  67. geoffb says:

    33 of 33. Agree questions were sometimes weirdly phrased. Working late and being up past 4am so I took it while having my first coffee probably helped to “get” the weirdness.

  68. Squid says:

    In case any of you cuzfuckers were wondering what “Multivariate regression analyses” involves, Professor William M Briggs offers this example.

    Hey! I was told there would be no math!

  69. sdferr says:

    There’s that special word again. Y’know, the one that ain’t.

  70. LBascom says:

    Humm, I got a 78.79 %.

    Nuts!

    bh, I got caught by the “per person” language, so I agree with your point.

  71. bh says:

    Yeah, definitely, Entropy. And they phrase that poorly in the table as well, with, “College makes you more likely to[…]” Sounds like they’re positing pure causation to me.

  72. bh says:

    sdferr is referring to “values”. “Principles” is perhaps more apt.

  73. sdferr says:

    I’m still puzzled by the “Bible is the Word of God” dealio. I mean, it seems uncontroversial to assent either way, to me. If a believer, then there it is. If not a believer, then there it is. Where else is it going to be, whatever the being or definition of “it” happens to be. So, what’s the problem?

  74. Squid says:

    Nobody ever got killed for flushing a Bible down the toilet, sdferr. Ergo, it’s only the Word of God if you believe in some kind of wussy God who doesn’t advocate decapitating the disrespecters, yo.

    I’m still smarting from being called crazy by something that names itself Astral Walker. That shit stings.

  75. geoffb says:

    There’s that special word again.

    And it is in a wrong answer.

  76. LBascom says:

    You crack me up Squid.

  77. LBascom says:

    “And it is in a wrong answer.”

    So Mr. 33 out of 33, you are going with the latter answer?

    Me too!

  78. sdferr says:

    I take it you’re pointing at Q13 geoffb? heh. Gets used again in a simple relative worth context in Q29.

  79. bh says:

    I’m still smarting from being called crazy by something that names itself Astral Walker. That shit stings.

    Heh.

  80. LBascom says:

    What score did you get Jeff?

  81. geoffb says:

    Also wrong answer on #29 but I take the usage of “value” to be correct there and not the same as the “values” one earlier to which you, and I too do to your influence, object.

  82. geoffb says:

    BTW, as is usual on most tests with rather strange wording I took a best guess on several questions so I was suprised at my score too. Expected to get around 30 or so.

  83. bh says:

    Getting #7 wrong showed I’m an idgit, which I knew before the quiz. Nothing ambiguous about that phrasing.

  84. Makewi says:

    87.88% (29 out of 33) Ouch.

    Missed 33, for the same reasons as seems the norm. Mistook the Puritans for the Quakers (doh!) and went with the no war answer. No excuses for missing #4 and #7, just sloppy thinking on my part. In my defense I am still working on my first cup of coffee.

    Jefferson opposed all the statist impulses of Hamilton, so it seems likely that he would have not been very keen on Obama. OTOH, the man talked out both sides of his mouth as proved by his statist impulses when he had the top job.

  85. sdferr says:

    For some reason (which I’m not sure I fully grasp myself), I’m inclined to think it better that we never imagine some person like T. Jeff living today, as an absurd impossibility. Working to figure out who and what he was in his own time seems hard enough, I guess.

  86. LBascom says:

    I think #8 was a history question, not a civics question.

    I probably shouldn’t have missed it anyway…

  87. geoffb says:

    I think/supect some of the weird wording may be part of the attempt to use the answers to separate out the views of different sectors of the public when they apply the (dreaded) MVA to the answers.

  88. B Moe says:

    I missed number 30. According to them, anyway.

  89. sdferr says:

    It’s kinda like one of those post-football-game things, where people want to say, if so and so hadn’t been called on that offside penalty, then the game would have gone thus and such-a-way.

  90. bh says:

    Well, if we’re going to continually mention MVA, I’m outta here. Good day, sirs!

  91. bh says:

    Yes, I’m counting #85 and #89 as sly MVA talk as well.

    Harrumph.

  92. Makewi says:

    sdferr, to the extent that using them as a framework to the path that they laid out for us, hoping we’d stick to it, it seems useful to sometimes imagine the modern through their eyes. Jefferson, prolly woulda made a hell of a gangster rapper.

  93. Makewi says:

    Is the drop in percentage of those that agree that same sex couples should be able to marry between a masters and a doctorate proof that obtaining your phd steals a little of your soul?

  94. steph says:

    30 out of 33, and I thought I’d do much worse, considering K-12 in Philly Public Schools. I realize that most of what I do know of civics I learned in early grades. I recall that my 4th grade teacher was very much a stickler about teaching us about Our American Past. That was in the early 60’s however. By the time I got to High School (early 70’s), American History was “bunch of white land owners wanted to protect their selfish interests so they created this country and killed all of the Indians who hadn’t already died from diseases deliberately passed onto them by evil colonists”, and “but hey, I brought in the latest Dead album, and thought it would be a good teaching tool, so let’s listen to it … Truckin, by the do dah day…”

  95. steph says:

    I’m being unfair. The high school teacher I refer to didn’t just bring in Dead albums. She also brought in Joan Baez, Diamonds and Rust. Oh god, the horrible nightmares that brings back. “Well, class, do you want to listen to Joan Baez, or should I scrape some chalk across the chalkboard for the next 45 minutes?” (One redeeming grace … it was my intro to John Prine).

  96. Makewi says:

    Huh. And here I would have thought that people who didn’t understand that a panel of people who make decisions on where the health care dollars are going to be spent, and as such will make decisions that influence who lives and dies could reasonably be called a death panel would be the ones classified as “stupid people”. But then, I get stuck on the details on the way to the larger truths put forth by those considering themselves the enlightened left.

  97. Makewi says:

    Ignore last, since RD seems to have gone buh-bye.

  98. Pablo says:

    Interesting how these “major findings” and the ISI website both prominently feature links to that noted Enlightenment debunker Rush Limbaugh…

    …talking about the every same ISI findings. Shocka!

  99. Makewi says:

    I am prophet, responding to comments before they are even posted.

    Fear me and/or give me tasty fruit pastry type snacks.

  100. Makewi says:

    You assume much, which is probably easier than dealing with reality. Does the health care bill contain a provision for a panel who will be making decisions on where health care assets will be directed?

  101. sdferr says:

    Another puzzle is why it is that Nancy Pelosi believes she will win the support of Bart Stupak by insulting his intelligence again and again. Perhaps she has created a novel human psychology?

  102. Makewi says:

    Fail, RD. You can’t answer a simple question, likely for reasons which are tied to your politics. Which is just fucking sad.

  103. LBascom says:

    Charles Krauthammer is smarter than RD I think.

  104. LBascom says:

    RD can’t tell the difference between someone using the term “death panel”, and someone describing one…

  105. Makewi says:

    Yes he can. He just chooses not to.

  106. JD says:

    Sdferr notes a fascinating new school of thought in negotiating theory. I may try that on my next sales call.

  107. JD says:

    Negotiation theory. Rd is rubbing off on me. Fucker.

  108. LBascom says:

    I don’t know JD, we constantly apply that theory to the trolls, and does it help?

  109. sdferr says:

    We should call it the “Nee D’Alesandro Projective Principle” JD. Pelosi Principle is too cutesy. Anyhow, it summarizes neatly as “NO! That’s not a soup in your fly.”

  110. JD says:

    Congresscritter – I don’t think I will be supporting your bill, as it goes against my principles.

    SanFranNan – now listen here, you pig ignert racist godbothering asshat, you will vote for it, and you will like it.

    Congrescritter – okay.

  111. bh says:

    Heh.

  112. Makewi says:

    Yes, because my question “was what does Charles K think about the whole death panel thing”. You got me RD.

    I get it, you weight politics more important than truth, or even searching for the truth. I know why you don’t want to answer, BTW.

  113. JD says:

    RD is a cousinfucking hilljack.

  114. bh says:

    I highly doubt RD could score with his cousin. Willing, yes, able, no.

  115. JD says:

    Critter – I am looking at this part of the bill, Speakerette, and find it objectionable.

    Pelosi – liar. It is not there, you stupid addled teabagging cousinfucker.

    Critter – I am reading it right here, in the ink on this page. I could show you.

    Pelosi – good god, you mouth-breathing sexist neanderthal. It is not there. You are making this all up.

    Critter – you are right. My bad.

  116. LBascom says:

    Krauthammer ends with:

    It’s not an outrage. It’s surely not a death panel. But it is subtle pressure applied by society through your doctor. And when you include it in a health care reform whose major objective is to bend the cost curve downward, you have to be a fool or a knave to deny that it’s intended to gently point you in a certain direction, toward the corner of the sick room where stands a ghostly figure, scythe in hand, offering release.

    [em]

    He doesn’t like the term “death panel”, too hyperbolic I think, but which are you RD, a fool or a knave?

  117. JD says:

    Rd – when people are dipping their dingleberries in your mouth, do you prefer that they shave their nutsack first, or do you prefer au natural? Burma shave?

  118. JD says:

    So *sigh* is another one of its tells that signals a lie is sure to follow. Sitting at a keyboard is another.

  119. RD's cousin says:

    He’s tried before, that’s for sure.

  120. LBascom says:

    JD, I think what comment #121 indicates is that there is an “all comers accepted” policy. No grooming necessary.

  121. sdferr says:

    Guava jelly wafers Makewi, not to do it again. Deal?

  122. Makewi says:

    I didn’t ask that second question, but I understand why you felt it necessary to include it in your response. I will ignore it and thank you for your answer to the first.

    Let’s try this one then. Is it reasonable to conclude that a panel that is empowered with directing health care assets will be required to make decisions that affect life and death of groups of people with similar conditions and of individuals?

    I know you will be resistant to this one. Feel free to kick it around a while if you want, sort of toy with the idea that this might be an important issue.

  123. Makewi says:

    Deal.

  124. Squid says:

    I dunno, RD. What is it with leftists blowing shit up?

  125. bh says:

    A lying, hypocritical politician?

    Someone escort me to my fainting coach!

  126. bh says:

    Or, couch rather. Don’t really need my fainting coach anymore, I’m pretty good at it.

  127. Squid says:

    1) A panel that denies medical treatment for certain conditions is NOT a Death Panel.

    2) A Congress that holds a rogue’s gallery of corrupt horse thieves at its top is the Most Ethical Congress EVAR.

    3) A bill that will cost a trillion dollars (even after you grant its sponsors all the accounting tricks they can come up with) is “revenue neutral.”

    4) A guy who can barely read a teleprompter and who thinks that there are 57 states in the Union is our Mostest Smartestest President EVAR.

    What are the rest of the Ten Progressive Commandments, RD?

  128. LBascom says:

    You might need transport to the couch…

  129. Obstreperous Infidel says:

    Shit. The irony of RD calling anyone obtuse (or any of the following for that matter; stupid, moronic, fucking dumb as bricks, shitfuckingly unbelievably dumber than mud, etc…) is too much to take. Anyhow, nice catch (kind of like shooting fish in a barrel, actually), Lee. It sounds like a game of semantics to me. You say death panel, I say see the Grim Reaper in the corner, let’s call the whole thing off. The healthcare bill? Indeed.

  130. Jeff G. says:

    On Schiavo.

    Tell me, do I count as being part of my own shop?

  131. LBascom says:

    I forget, what was the governments interest in Terry Shaivo again?

  132. Obstreperous Infidel says:

    I believe that’s called an inconvenient truth in RD’s universe, Jeff.

  133. TaiChiWawa says:

    I can’t find it on YouTube but I recall an early SNL skit that parodied an academic TV discussion by historians. The topic was, “How would history have been different if Eleanor Roosevelt had been able to fly?”

  134. bh says:

    Heh, lee. Took me a second to catch your joke. That’d be some fancy living if I had a fainting coach to ride to my fainting couch. Gotta add that to my Amazon wishlist.

  135. zombyboy says:

    30 out of 33 (I missed 33, too, and I’m glad I didn’t read the thread before doing the quiz).

    I’m 39. I have a high school diploma and a certificate that tells the world that I’m somewhat reasonably well-trained in graphic design. I’m finally starting on a real degree program (an associates in marketing), but won’t have finished it until the end of the year.

    If college educated students can face a simple quiz like that and fail so regularly, well, I’m flabbergasted. It is not just an indictment of the college system, though, it’s an indictment of our schools from cradle to grave. I didn’t learn the answers in college and, honestly, kids shouldn’t have to wait until college to have an understanding of our history and the way our country works.

    One of the most important tasks that our public schools should be accomplishing is to prepare kids to be good citizens. You can’t possibly be a good citizen if you don’t know, for instance, how the electoral college works and why it exists. Disagreeing with the system is fine; disagreeing without even understanding the basics of the system is simply stupid.

    God, this makes me depressed.

  136. JD says:

    It was kind of creepy when those thingies like rd were doing their little happy dance when they got a chance to kill someone.

  137. LBascom says:

    From the report linked in the post:

    . It turned out that college independently influenced a person’s opinion on only five of the thirty-nine—four of the five involving highly polarizing issues.

    Do you figure this is an accident?

  138. LBascom says:

    HA! Trick question answer number 3!

    A fool and a knave…

  139. bh says:

    Do you figure this is an accident?

    I’d say that it’s no accident.

    But, you can run the numbers all day long and you’ll only ever find the correlation. That is to say, there’s no causation coefficient, for instance. You figure that out a different way, by experiment or by logical proof. Not regression analysis.

  140. JD says:

    Rd/meya has been especially agitated this week.

  141. bh says:

    A fool and a knave is undoubtedly correct. It’s the proportion that I’m curious about. It’d say more fool. But, it’s debatable.

  142. Jeff G. says:

    Who knows. I always thought of you as more of a Dollar Store franchise.

    Ah. Yet another difference between us: I never thought of you at all.

  143. JD says:

    It is hard for rd to find time to be honest or smart with his dick stuck in a goat and nutsack resting on his tongue. I guess it is distracting.

  144. cranky-d says:

    When the trolls are agitated, you know they are taking hits. Continue firing.

    BTW, I haven’t seen Danger around lately. I hope he’s okay.

    And remember, if anyone needs a personalized attitude adjustment, a CrankyCudgel™ may be just the tool you will want to use. Simple and efficient, the CrankyCudgel™ is a “back to basics” way of getting people to come around to your way of thinking, or to just shut them the hell up.

  145. JHo says:

    CrankyCudgel™

    Giggling here…

  146. cranky-d says:

    OT: Every time I see someone complain that this place has changed, it points to the lack of self-awareness of the accuser. While the tone here can change a bit due to the turnover in commenters (sp?), and perhaps a little bit due to who is posting, I think that politically and intellectually PW has been very consistent. So anyone who thinks this site has changed significantly might want to do a bit of self-examination to realize the source of their (perhaps) frustration. Also, that person is probably pretty young, or was when they started reading here.

  147. Abe Froman says:

    I don’t need a cudgel, but I’d pay good money to know how I can get this “TM” on my keyboard. Pathetic admission from a seasoned Madison Avenue asshole, but the little proofreader people have always inserted those trademark thingys in their dungeon so I haves no idea how.

  148. cranky-d says:

    To get the TM thingy, type in the ampersand character “&” followed by “trade;” with no spaces in between. The copyright symbol is the same except you type in “copy” instead of “trade.”

  149. Mark A. Flacy says:

    ™, if I remember correctly. ™

  150. dicentra says:

    I think #8 was a history question, not a civics question.

    The only reason I knew that FDR messed with SCOTUS in any way was because of Liberal Fascism, not my stupid history texts, which droned on about tarrifs and Tea Pot Domes.

    Even then, I got it wrong because my impression was that he tried to screw with it six ways ’til Sunday, so maybe two of them were right.

    to the extent that using them as a framework to the path that they laid out for us, hoping we’d stick to it, it seems useful to sometimes imagine the modern through their eyes

    For the past several months, I’ve carried on a conversation in my head with an imaginary Jefferson, he having been snatched from his time and transported into ours.

    I keep thinking I should just take him to the airport to watch the planes take off and land, where I can explain aerodynamics and internal combustion to the best of my ability, and then trying studiously to avoid talking about Marxism/Fascism/Progressivism and the current state of government, because I know it would break his heart.

    Better to let him thrill at the airplanes and highways and such than let him know about the rot.

  151. Mark A. Flacy says:

    A bot could delete your posts, RD. No human intervention needed at all.

  152. bh says:

    Does one really think of the gnats when swatting them?

    It seems that someone fancies themselves to be a very important troll. You’re a joke, RD. Don’t you get that?

  153. Stink says:

    Deleting posts–funny, funny stuff. But what’s NOT FUNNY is when some one takes down IMPORTATNT information that you post about your wrastlin’ coach on Wikipedia.

  154. Mark A. Flacy says:

    To be actually on topic, I got 32 out of 33. I forgot that line was from the Gettysburg Address.

  155. newrouter says:

    #33 was a trick question

  156. B Moe says:

    RD speak TRUTH TO POWER!

    A bot could also write has posts, Mark. Or a trained monkey.

  157. Abe Froman says:

    Thanks Cranky.

    RD fucks goats.&trade

  158. Abe Froman says:

    Oops.™

  159. newrouter says:

    what is the comment character in html

  160. Mark A. Flacy says:

    B Moe, untrained monkey is more likely.

    Abe, you need the trailing semi-colon. So you type in “™” and we’ll see “™”.

  161. Mark A. Flacy says:

    <!– insert comment here –>

  162. bh says:

    RD acting all butt hurt about having comments deleted is an omen that this is going to be a good weekend.

    Say something else stupid, RD.

  163. sdferr says:

    Abe, there’s ® too, which “®” or “®” or “Alt[held] + 0174”

  164. Mark A. Flacy says:

    Oooh, it suppressed some of my hyphens.

    <!-‐ insert comment here ‐->

  165. sdferr says:

    yoiks, first “& # 174;” remove spaces or “& reg;” ditto

  166. newrouter says:

  167. JD says:

    Rd/meya just can’t quit us.

  168. dicentra says:

    From Jeff’s Schiavo link:

    This is a problem, and there is going to be violence when Terri Schiavo dies. — John Cole

    That was five years ago. There was no violence.

    And in the intervening years, how many times has the Left predicted that the wingers would finally snap and a bloodbath would ensue? And how many times has that prediction come true?

    No, I mean the actual incidents of winger violence, not the random left-wing wackos shooting up the place—Amy Bishop, Joe Stack, the Pentagon guy—that are later attributed to the Tea Partiers or whitewashed altogether.

    It’s been said before, and I’ll say it again: the Left fairly cherishes its wingers-as-tinderboxes caricature, and they’d love nothing better than to see winger violence actually break out–all the better to crack down on this wicked Threat To Society.

    It’s also discouraging when conservatives–once again–accept the faulty premise. To wit, CK MacLeod in the Green Room a few weeks ago (emphases mine):

    You can be a fan of Glenn Beck’s–you might even be Glenn Beck himself–and acknowledge that his rhetoric is sometimes irresponsible. You can be thankful to Glenn Beck for his contributions to American conservatism … and yet still wonder whether, going forward, his pet themes, favorite arguments, and customary stances aren’t counterproductive and divisive, where not embarrassing. In short, you can agree with everything J.E. wrote, yet still be concerned about the way that Glenn Beck habitually brings vindictive hatred and a self-destructive and dangerous extremism into conservative discourse.

    Dangerous? I responded to the “irresponsible” charge with my own: that CK was buying into the Left’s caricature.

    Time to stop worrying about the right FROM THE PROGRESSIVE PERSPECTIVE, me hearties. All their assumptions must be challenged and refuted. After the 9/12 rally in D.C., the TEA Partiers left the Mall cleaner than when they arrived. They’re freaking Boy Scouts, people. Spread the word.

  169. Jeff G. says:

    Yeah, never. Except when you were methodically deleting all my posts. Gotta preserve that received narrative.

    I don’t want you posting here. I told you that. You continue to post, I continue to delete.

    Same goes with stinkfingerheretic. The only narrative I wish to preserve is the “this is my site, so I get to say who gets to say.” It’s a small pleasure, but a pleasure nevertheless.

    And last I checked I wasn’t anywhere suggesting that this place was an online encyclopedia.

  170. bh says:

    Cranky, from #146, I’ve seen a comment or two from Danger in the last couple days. As recently as yesterday, I think.

  171. bh says:

    With the RD litter deleted, #146 doesn’t apply anymore.

  172. Jeff G. says:

    Anybody else get the sense that when Stink says “wrastlin'” [sic], he rubs his own chin and the mini beardlette he wears thereupon with his bony fingers and waifish arms and silently reminds himself that intellectuals don’t really need to be strong of body, because they are so much superior in mind…?

    — Then he tries to curl his copy of Proust 8 times before giving up and telling himself he was just attempting it to be ironic?

  173. Jeff G. says:

    Because I get that sense. From Stink.

  174. newrouter says:

    “need to be strong of body odor” works for stink

  175. Jeff G. says:

    Ooh. That latest RD purge netted about 2 full pages worth of comments. And I deleted them without reading them or giving them a second thought!

    That’s like stealing bits of his soul.

  176. cranky-d says:

    Thanks, bh. I guess I haven’t been following the comments very carefully.

  177. cranky-d says:

    Why do commies think that a private site is somehow subject to the first amendment? I guess because they have that strong sense of entitlement going for them. They are OWED stuff, dammit, and right now!

  178. cranky-d says:

    Here’s a question. How often do RD and Stink have to replace their keyboards due to the keys being too sticky? IYKWIMAITYD.

  179. JHo says:

    anti-abortion terrorists in general.

    Turns out that pretty much every Marxist with a seat in high power was a terrorist, Ardy. Like a quarter billion lives a century worth of terror.

  180. Abe Froman says:

    Pro-lifers are nothing if not consistent, eh?

    Taking innocent life. Killing a baby killer. Potato. Potahto.

    Get a better argument, you moron.

  181. geoffb says:

    Stink (and proud of it) aka Paul T. Lazaro when posting at SEK’s site.

  182. newrouter says:

    ot fyi mark levin is giving a speech at the reagan library @ 6:00 pst and can be seen at the library’s web site. now back to odor problems

  183. Makewi says:

    I would reply to RD again, but to go from prophet to that guy who talks to himself at the bus stop all in one afternoon is more than my fragile ego can take.

  184. Jeff G. says:

    What is it that Stink and RD don’t understand about “I don’t want you posting here”?

    And yes, Paul, I do see right through you. To the point where your attempts to deflect by feigning ironic distance and bemusement are as transparent as your thighs are tiny and white.

  185. Jeff G. says:

    General query: aren’t many pro-life activists Catholics? And don’t Catholics tend to vote Democrat?

    I’m asking this seriously, hoping someone might know figures. Because I’m too lazy to look them up myself.

  186. Rusty says:

    84.Comment by Makewi on 3/5 @ 11:36 am #

    87.88% (29 out of 33) Ouch

    Me too.

  187. sdferr says:

    I dunno about Catholics generally speaking, but I’ve long thought there’s a heap of ’em in Ma.

  188. newrouter says:

    @185 from a lefty source

    George W. Bush’s success among Catholic voters has been well-documented. He hired a special adviser on Catholic issues, and his endorsement of faith-based initiatives and school vouchers won him points among the Catholic electorate. Bush won 47 percent of the Catholic vote in 2000, and then 52 percent in 2004. Conservative pundits have pointed out that he did even better among Catholics who attend Mass at least once a week.

    link

  189. sdferr says:

    Heh, there’s an even bigger heap at Mass, I guess.

  190. bh says:

    This poll seems relevant to half that question.

    If you broke that down further to Irish Catholic, I think you’d be more likely to see higher simultaneous anti-abortion/pro-Democrat sentiment. Anecdotal on my part, of course.

  191. Abe Froman says:

    My sense is that Catholics tend to vote Democrat more when they’re clustered in urban environments, but the more suburbanized, the more Republican they are. Massachusetts (and Rhode Island) are a whole different animal and I couldn’t begin to explain their mindset.

  192. bh says:

    Old joke but why are Catholics pro-life? Because the father is probably a Kennedy.

  193. JD says:

    So Lazaro was one of those people that hates on behalf of SEK?

  194. JD says:

    Why is it so difficult for you to understand the idea that you are not welcome?

  195. cranky-d says:

    JD, progressives have a strong sense of personal wonderfulness so they cannot imagine not being welcome anywhere.

  196. JD says:

    Someday, a psychiatrist ought to study the pathology behind this kind of behavior.

  197. newrouter says:

    We progressives sometimes get overly zealous in our insistence on lying

  198. JD says:

    Newrouter fixed your mendacity for you, rd.

  199. Abe Froman says:

    If the mission was shedding light here you’d think the moonbat brigade would have sent a brighter bulb than RD.

  200. dicentra says:

    I think I speak for most if not all of us when I say that pw is lots more fun when Jeff actively comments.

    Also, I am faced with a mystery and I cannot think of a better set of consultants for this:

    I like to use the handicapped stall in the ladies’ room because it’s spacious and stuff. But every time I go in (a couple times a day), the seat is up and the bowl is unflushed. That’s quite a feat, because the toilets have motion sensors on them for automatic flush.

    What woman leaves the seat up and doesn’t flush?

    That’s what I’m asking.

  201. guinsPen says:

    Nancy Pelosi.

  202. JD says:

    Di – wish I could help, but I am phobic of public restrooms.

  203. Abe Froman says:

    I’d have an answer for Dicentra if she worked in NYC. Utah? Not so much.

  204. newrouter says:

    special place in hell is reserved for those who use handicap stuff. me i just take their parking spots.

  205. McGehee says:

    It’s the notorious Ghost Crapper.

  206. bh says:

    Do any of your female coworkers sport an adam’s apple and large hands?

  207. JD says:

    Rd is a transtesticled cousinfucker

  208. Warren Bonesteel says:

    Thomas Jefferson. Inaugural address. 1801.

    The Constitution in five paragraphs.

  209. Rusty says:

    210.Comment by RD on 3/5 @ 6:18 pm #

    I think I speak for most if not all of us when I say that pw is lots more fun when Jeff actively comments

    Possibly true, but I expect he’s too shitfaced right now to appreciate any kind of positive feedback.

    In other news, it turns out that JD’s mom/wife is a PUMA. One of the more entertaining ones.

    Someday you’ll show up with a personality and impress us all.

  210. JD says:

    I am not sure what that is, but insulting my Better Half and mother is pretty low, even for pond scum like you. Now run along and molest your goat.

  211. JD says:

    No day is really ever complete without Warren Bonersteel’s little pearls of wisdom.

  212. Darleen says:

    Got 31 out of 33 … missed #30 and #33. Took it before reading the comments and gotta agree, didn’t like the way they were worded.

    and it looks like I missed a lot of RD and stinky’s peeing on the floor.

    hot damn!

  213. newrouter says:

    “The Constitution in five paragraphs”

    which paragraph had health care?

  214. I missed only one, but I guessed at about three of them. So, when do I get a cabinet appointment?

  215. newrouter says:

    rd you like birch beer?

  216. geoffb says:

    On handicap stalls. I’ll ask my wife if she has seen the same thing as she has to use them when we go out and they don’t have one of the type of restrooms where I can assist her.

  217. newrouter says:

    ot mark levin is speaking at reagan library about see the library’s website for streaming video

  218. JD says:

    How does insulting my wife and mother relate to your inability to interact in polite society, and not shit in somebody else’s living room? How does your continued refusal and inability to stay away from where you are not wanted in any way relevant to the lives of the women in my life?

    Fuck you, swordfish style.

  219. Mark A. Flacy says:

    RD, you really should hit the dictionary for the definition of the word “prove”.

  220. Mark A. Flacy says:

    RD reminds me of the “mad shitter” that we had in my first unit.

  221. McGehee says:

    I think it’s time to show RD the poo-stick ban-stick.

  222. sdferr says:

    Anybody listen to Dr Davies?

  223. bh says:

    What a rich fantasy life RD has.

    I’d take RD’s provocations with a grain of salt, JD, as I’m sure you do. Does it really have standing to insult anyone? It’s kinda like being flipped off by a monkey at the zoo.

  224. Jeff G. says:

    Jeff feels so empowered.

  225. Pablo says:

    General query: aren’t many pro-life activists Catholics? And don’t Catholics tend to vote Democrat?

    Yes and yes. Well, faithful Catholics are pro-life, anyway. Not so faithful Catholics go by Pelosi and Biden and Kerry and Kennedy and such.

    My sense is that Catholics tend to vote Democrat more when they’re clustered in urban environments, but the more suburbanized, the more Republican they are. Massachusetts (and Rhode Island) are a whole different animal and I couldn’t begin to explain their mindset.

    Being their spawn, allow me to asplain. Catholicism is big on the community of the Church and social justice and whatnot. Also, they’re largely Italian and Irish and Portuguese and other recently immigrated human detrius. Or at least they were a couple or 4 generations ago. The “Dems are for the little guy” notion still holds. Also, they’ve come up in and taken power in the Democrat party, so that’s just voting for the home team, because that’s the way you do it.

  226. bh says:

    The name jacking is merely pathetic and boring. (Stink, I assume.)

    Keep showing us your ass, monkey! Dance for us!

  227. bh says:

    The “Dems are for the little guy” notion still holds.

    Hey, this sounds like Thanksgiving. (Irish Catholic myself.)

  228. sdferr says:

    The handicapped stall. Madeira?

  229. bh says:

    Btw, #226 is probably a name jack, I assume.

  230. Darleen says:

    totally OT, but heck, I’m a mom and get to brag…

    #4 daughter’s boyfriend directed a music video that just got the first place award in the BEA Festival of Media Arts. #4 did the artwork for the video, too.

    [very very large grin]

  231. bh says:

    Hey, congrats!

  232. Jeff G. says:

    No, that’s mine, bh. I just picture RD and Stink crafting their little barbs and waiting for a reaction — this is, after all, how they spend their days — and then I come along and just erase them from existence. Poof!

    Very Chuck Mangione.

  233. bh says:

    Okay, carry on, captain. Now, to google Chuck Mangione.

  234. bh says:

    …and now, to google flugelhorn.

  235. Pablo says:

    This is what you’re looking for, bh.

  236. bh says:

    Thanks, Pablo, I had no chance of catching that allusion.

    Also, I gotta get my ass a purple velvet suit.

  237. sdferr says:

    Focal dystonia or embouchure collapse could account for troll fail, been blowing so hard for so long it just doesn’t work anymore.

  238. That’s wonderful, Darleen! Post a YouTube link or something.

  239. newrouter says:

    I suppose that makes up for being rejected by Google.

    tell it to the yellow people

  240. Pablo says:

    I wanna rock that John Denver bowtie.

  241. Pablo says:

    Congrats, Darleen! And I’m with TSI. Link or it didn’t happen. :)

  242. Darleen says:

    Oh… and here’s the BEA page announcing the winners

    http://beafestival2010.wordpress.com/student-video-competition/

    Music Video Category
    1st Place
    Christopher Wiggins, San Francisco State University, “Hay Love”

  243. LBascom says:

    What kinda psychosis compels a person to make comments they know will be deleted?

    I’m thinking one that shouldn’t miss their meds…

  244. bh says:

    Lot of cool visual transitions in that video.

    Also, you just gotta like a song that references the song Jam-On It. “[…]if life is a dance, we just jam on it[…]”

  245. Pablo says:

    Uh…uh….uh…..

    RACIST!!!!

    /Just in case RD can’t make it back

  246. mcgruder says:

    Dunno Jeff,
    Not seeing it.
    I think forcing 18-year olds to memorize the dates and circumstances surrounding something like the Neo-Con/Likkud bombing of Pearl Harbor is self-defeating.
    Things only can have the value the assignee places on it; everything else is just linear and hierarchical preferences dictated by the controlling power group.

  247. bh says:

    RD makes me think of dicentra’s narcissism post in the pub.

  248. Jeff G. says:

    Really? I find RD doesn’t make me think at all.

  249. Jeff G. says:

    Okay, off to watch a movie. Will delete the next wave upon my return.

  250. bh says:

    I doubt that, Jeff. After all, you’ve based your entire life around suppressing its right to clutter up your blog.

  251. I don’t like hip-hop, so I watched with the sound off. Very impressive job! Conga-rats to the both of ’em, & you too.

  252. dicentra says:

    Do any of your female coworkers sport an adam’s apple and large hands?

    There are tons of us, most of whom I never see. And as for the FUD, I thought of that, but the unflushed part is disconcerting. Don’t women always flush?

    It’s the notorious Ghost Crapper.

    We had one of those when I was growing up. We’d leave the sliding door open so we could air out the place at night (no AC, no swamp cooler), and one morning we awoke to find an enormous, reeking log in the toilet that no one would cop to.

    Now, to google Chuck Mangione.

    You’re kidding. THAT young?

    Christopher Wiggins

    Any relation to Ender?

  253. dicentra says:

    And by “tons of us” I mean “women who use that particular biffy.”

    Not trannies.

  254. sdferr says:

    Phew

  255. bh says:

    According to wiki, I was between 2 or 3 when “Feels So Good” came out, di. The ’70s were mac and cheese and Sesame Street for me.

    And cocaine-fueled nights at the disco. ‘Cause I was a tiny, corduroy-clad hustler.

  256. dicentra says:

    That’s OK. I’m now working with people whose mother I’m old enough to be. And their wives are having babies.

    Evabody go over and read the QOTD at Hot Air. Allah juxtapositions two interpretations of the TEA Partiers, wherein David Brooks confirms my suspicions that he’s been at the NYT way, way too long.

  257. Random Star says:

    I’m still smarting from being called crazy by something that names itself Astral Walker. That shit stings.

    Well, I’m so excited zono’s finally stopped calling me that I’ve just spotted myself.

    Siriusly.

  258. dicentra says:

    Yes, RD, the fact that I want to abolish gubmint entitlements is proof that I’m a narcissist. It’s definitely not the case that I think that people, like animals, are better off fending for themselves than living in cramped zoo, having lost the ability to survive in the wild.

    That’s definitely not it. Empathy is, after all, an entirely political virtue.

  259. bh says:

    RD, you’re smarter than a sub-average monkey, right? Reread your comment at 260 again. If it helps, pretend you didn’t write it. Pretend Jeff wrote it.

    Notice anything?

  260. Didn’t RD used to attempt an argument, or an ascerbic observation, or even a witty putdown, from time to time? At least cynn tries to engage, even when she’s drunk.

  261. Darleen says:

    RD is a-skeered he is going to lose his binky. Poor widdle Peter RD Pan, he doesn’t ever wanna grow up.

  262. dicentra says:

    Aw rats. Looks like the jig is up. RD has correctly identified me as a delusional sociopath.

    And here I thought I was fooling you all.

  263. bh says:

    Okay, that satisfies the quick contradiction, RD thing — with a side of projection, yeah! — but, let’s go deeper, RD. Imagine that someone else is writing your comments, what would you first notice about them?

    You can do it. I’m sure you can.

  264. dicentra says:

    I’m off to watch Earth 2, the defunct TV series from some years back. Anyone catch that originally? I loved it and was cheesed when they “Firefly-d” it.

  265. Pablo says:

    POOPYHEAD!!!

  266. B Moe says:

    What’s a two letter word for “tenaciously ignorant”?

  267. B Moe says:

    Any relation to Ender?

     Have you read the Shadow series, di?  If not I highly recommend it, every bit as good as the Ender books, Bean is an amazing character.

     Anyone unfamiliar with Orson Scott Card, you need to find Ender’s Game and go from there, brilliant stuff.

  268. Pablo says:

    Hey, good luck getting rid of Social Security and Medicare.

    What candidate could possibly be defeated running on that platform?

    Sarah Palin, right? What do I win?

  269. B Moe says:

    Hey, good luck getting rid of Social Security and Medicare.

    The only folks needing luck are the ones trying to save it.

  270. I’m not even factoring SS into my retirement calculations. If it’s still there, it’ll be gravy. If not, not.

  271. bh says:

    TSI mentions the obvious. Hey, guys, I’ll sell any of you my SS and Medicare benefits for the one time only price of $1.

    Too high? How about a nickel?

  272. bh says:

    RD still won’t help itself though.

    RD, this is a safe place, you can talk with us. I swear to you, if you could just read your comments as coming from someone else, we could move forward. Hey, it’ll be fun.

  273. bh says:

    Gay as shit (bad prison gay, not happy rainbow gay) but we have some slap fight blue on blue twitter action with Bill Simmons and Keith Olbermann. Maybe. * *

  274. Jeff G. says:

    First flick is over. What’d I miss?

  275. bh says:

    Not much. RD still won’t open up and accept our help. Fingers crossed.

  276. dicentra says:

    Have you read the Shadow series, di?

    I didn’t like the Bean story, actually. The Bean of Ender’s Game was scrappy and impulsive, but the Bean of Shadow was so analytical it hurt. Notice how when the two novels intersect, and Bean has to say what he said in Game, it sounds so out of character that Card has Bean wonder to himself why he said what he said, such as when he grabbed the deadline and jumped into the battle room.

    I guess Card isn’t capable of going inside the head of someone like the original Bean. Card’s specialty is to create characters who are able to figure out people’s true motivations really quickly, to hear the words behind the words. The original Bean probably had ADD, and Card would swallow broken glass before he wrote something that stylized.

    Still, the Ender series (Ender Wiggin, sans S) is extremely good.

    Card tends to make Lefty heads asplode by writing such incredibly sensitive characters (including homosexuals) and yet he’s one of those awful social cons–and a Mormon to boot! Never occurs to them to question their assumptions about social cons; instead, they rage and protest that such a thing simply cannot be.

  277. bh says:

    It’s late but I’ll watch Davies tomorrow afternoon, sdferr. Referring to some earlier comment or another.

    F’n classical liberalism. Any chance I could find a philosophy with less homework?

  278. guinsPen says:

    31 of 33 and a query about question #17:

    What the Sputnik?

  279. guinsPen says:

    What I’m saying, Professors Putin, is that Explorer 1 was the first successful American satellite.

  280. guinsPen says:

    Extra credit question) Who’s buried in Lenin’s Tomb?

  281. geoffb says:

    Good catch. And Explorer actually did something useful. Not just a toy that went Beep-beep.

  282. Slartibartfast says:

    this place used to be cooltown

    One thing has remained constant, though: we still think you’re crazier than a fish with titties.

  283. guinsPen says:

    Reader Po!!:

    Sputnik

    Telstar

  284. guinsPen says:

    Blast, work just walked in.

    Later, folks.

  285. DarthRove says:

    dicentra:

    Wonder if you’ve read a book called “The Speed of Dark” by Elizabeth Moon. Told from the point of view of an autistic man, set in a near-distant future (no space-jockeying or stuff like that). Moon does an amazing job of putting you behind the eyes of someone with autism, and describing how that point of view handles the world. When you mentioned Card and him not being able to get into Bean’s head I thought of this book.

  286. Lurker says:

    Comment by JD on 3/5 @ 9:35 am #

    bh – 33 was the one I missed. Lousy question. The “correct” answer on 29 just reflects typical dopey leftist thinking.

    The stupid is strong in this statement. Not only is the questionnaire wingnutty, but one look at its major donors and sponsors (http://www.isi.org/donors.aspx) shows it donors are about as lefty as any other commenter on this site.

    I mean, Ed Meese, really? He’s a leftist. And, is it leftist to believe that assets, like roads, libraries, state colleges, and dykes, provide public service to a community? That’s what we call leftist? Health inspections of restaurants is a leftists idea? WOW

    I expect better from such a conservative bulwark as JD.

  287. B Moe says:

    The stupid is strong in this statement.

    I think there should have been a colon instead of a period there.

  288. McGehee says:

    I dunno about any of those others, Lurker, but the idea that money infuses ideology is often seen in those who try to debunk the notion of liberal bias in media because the media are owned by {{{gasp}}} corporations.

  289. McGehee says:

    All it means is that some people have more dollars than sense and give their money to people who want to destroy everything their donors stand for.

  290. Mark A. Flacy says:

    dykes provide public service to a community?

    Learn something new every day.

  291. […] “The Shaping of the American Mind: The Diverging Influences of the … […]

  292. […] “The Shaping of the American Mind: The Diverging Influences of the … […]

  293. […] “The Shaping of the American Mind: The Diverging Influences of the … […]

  294. John Bradley says:

    dykes provide public service to a community?

    Our fair nation’s excess cat supply has to be stored somewhere.

  295. JD says:

    Lurker – did you even read what I was referring to? No? Didn’t think so. Kthnxbye

  296. Slartibartfast says:

    I think there should have been a colon instead of a period there.

    Colostomies abound.

  297. NukemHill says:

    Well, I scored 32 out of 33, and I’ve got a Masters. So I’m clearly better than all y’all. And actually, I only missed one because I misread a date.

    I must be some kind of stud, or something. Really. You can all just send me all of your money now. Don’t waste time questioning me. I am your better, and the clear progressive philosophy exhibited here pretty much requires that you pay homage to me.

    So there.

  298. NukemHill says:

    I’ve been seriously under impressed with Card’s Empire stories. His characters are flat, and the storyline is really shallow. They seem almost like an obligation-write, rather than something he felt internally. And he’s seriously bordering on endorsing the progressive line that really smart people should be in control of the government and guide us on the correct path.

    I’ll be curious how he wraps it up. I’m assuming there will be at least one more after Hidden Empire.

  299. […] Here. He’s wondering how much of an impact on civic education a college degree might have. Let’s just say that its helpfulness is limited. “How does graduating from college or gaining civic knowledge change someone’s public views?” […]

  300. Danger says:

    “BTW, I haven’t seen Danger around lately. I hope he’s okay.”

    Cranky,

    I’m good but been busy with the Iraqi election plans. We sure could use a CrankyCudgel™ on the jihadi’s this week 8-).

    Can’t stay long tonight but couldn’t resist one shot downrange:

    “Like, academic achievement, education,…” Of the guy that won’t release his transcripts or thesis?

    “…intellectual qualities,” Do narcicism and arrogance qualify?

    “…informed policy positions,” Closing GITMO, miranda rights and criminal trials for terrorists?

    “public speaking….” George Bush said more with the aid of a bullhorn from a pile of rubble than this shadow of a man will ever read from a teleprompter.

    “umm …..speaking the truth?” You can keep your insurance?, abortion is not covered by this bill? Two million jobs saved/created?

    Nishi PLEASE!

  301. dicentra says:

    “The Speed of Dark” by Elizabeth Moon

    No, but it sounds interesting. I read that one book by Temple Grandin, Animals in Translation, and it was utterly fascinating. I’d provide the link, but pw tends to eat comments with links, especially the long ones that you get at Amazon.

  302. dicentra says:

    speaking the truth

    For someone like nishi, “speaking the truth” means “publicly articulating all our political fantasies.”

    The winger/moonbat cultural divide makes it so hard to communicate.

  303. Blitz says:

    Ok, 300+ comments in, late to the game. I’ve never spent a day in college (except to do pest control back in the 80’s) and I got a 93 on that quiz…My daughter could ace it I hope, and she’s about to go to U maine Orano.

    That being said? The ONLY thing my dad ever did right for me? was insisting I work for his shitty little company straight out of HS. Taught me ( and my bro, who runs a body shop, we trade off) to think for ourselves.

    I may not have the vocabulary skills to keep up with y’all all the time? But things like this make me glad I never went to Johnson & Wales. (yes, I was accepted)

  304. Blitz says:

    Dicentra? Nishi and TRUTH have never actually met. Now she and Fantasy (of all types) are on a first name basis.

  305. Slartibartfast says:

    I only got 30 right. I iz ignerent.

  306. Blaine says:

    I missed the Gettysburg Address. That should be a minus 25% right there. Oh the shame of it all.

  307. Rusty says:

    I figure if you only got 80% you’re still ahead of the avereage Ivy League history professor.

  308. serr8d says:

    Ummmm….Nishi? (Or is it Shams, now? This is so confuzzling…) there was a request from someone, ‘feets I think, to find a pic of you somewhere on the ‘nets. I remember once seeing one linked (and closing that browser window quite quickly) but in my haste to exit I didn’t bookmark.

    Could you indulge us?

  309. Slartibartfast says:

    Oh. Racism is wrong. I don’t give a shit if it’s antiquated or not. Also, race-baiting is racism, otherwise known as wrong.

    I don’t think many of us would disagree with the above statement, but somehow nitwit has it in her head (plenty of room in there, it seems) that we just can’t bring ourselves to denounce racism.

    As if it needs denouncing.

  310. Rusty says:

    #304
    College is highly overated. Unless you get a degree in engineering, or medicine , or something where you can actually DO stuff rather than talk about it all day. I got a degree in sociology and worked in a mental hospital for awhile. Until I realized that all the socialworkers and psychologists and etc. were batshit crazier than the inmates. Shortly thereafter I learned how to weld.

  311. Slartibartfast says:

    Unless you get a degree in engineering, or medicine , or something where you can actually DO stuff rather than talk about it all day.

    Trust me, we engineers do our share of talking. But at least we have something to point to while talking.

  312. VekTor says:

    The ‘debt’ answer may be true in a certain situation, if you assume a certain situation, but it’s still not a true logical statement. If y = y + (x-z) and x = z, then y = 0. — Comment by Entropy on 3/5 @ 10:07 am

    Wow. This is made of fail. Your two equations reduce to y = y, not y = 0. Any value of y works in that situation.

  313. VekTor says:

    32 out of 33 with a high-school education. Missed the anti-Federalist question, just drew a blank for some reason.

  314. Zelda says:

    I just wanted to say something about Catholicism and the pro-life stance, having been well steeped in both. Actively pro-life Catholics will look at that issue first and vote accordingly, almost always for Republicans. They can be found anywhere, but they don’t make up a huge percentage of the Catholic population. Suburban Catholics will usually say they are pro-life and vote Republican. Many urban Catholics will vote Democrat and at least think about abortion critically. A pro-life Democrat would probably do very well with them. I also think Bush’s “compassionate conservatism” resonated strongly with Catholics (and they’re probably the only ones).

    But there is a nasty strain of liberation theology that runs through the Catholic Church. I think this is what progressives successfully exploit within Catholic immigrant communities. Conservatives have a real chance with Catholic immigrants, but so many conservatives are preoccupied with keeping them out because they don’t think they have the power to counter progressivism’s siren song of “free stuff.”

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