A Little Parable About False Witnessing and Malice from the Slacktavist...

[liz_marcs]

The Slacktavist has a little parable about bearing false witness on his blog today that is really a must-read.

It's also pretty clear just who he's talking about in his parable as he tries to explain the fearful, malicious mindset we're seeing coming from the "Obama is reely a sekrit Muslim!" crowd and Palin's vicious acceptance speech, which seemed to be 50% lies. (Oooops! She lied again again! And again!)

And what really confuses the hell out of me is that even after Palin's been caught in several lies over and over again over the past week, she keeps repeating the same damn lies. It's almost like she thinks people are stupid.

The Slacktivist — reporter, progressive, and evangelical Christian — attempts to explain this mindset to us reality-based peoples in today's blog entry. (It's Part 1 of a two-part series.)

Although I am loathe to support his anti-Heinlein theory that one should never attribute to stupidity what can be attributed to malice, since he's more familiar with the kind of mindset that he's targeting I'll take his word for it that the population of people who fall into this category is a whole lot bigger than I'd like to believe.

In the meantime, I still believe that there are some low-information voters out there who just need a few facts.

So, mon amis, I have a list of sites you should bookmark and read on a regular basis so that when you meet a low-information voter who just might believe that Obama's a supah sekrit Muslim bent on killin' whitey (presumably after he raises whitey's taxes), you'll be properly prepared to set them a-right.

[Oh, and for you GOPers out there, you might want to take advantage of these sites, too. No matter what they tell you, the facts do not have a liberal bias. I swear. Cross my heart and hope to die.]

Sites you need to bookmark until at least November 5:

• PolitiFact, a graphics-heavy, interesting little site from the St. Petersberg Times. Be sure to read the commentary that comes with each of the ratings, because you'll quickly find that something may be technically true (and thus rated as true) while still being a lie.
  
  
• FactCheck.org from the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Not flashy, but definitely my fave. So painfully politically neutral that its earnestness rolls off the page.
  
  
• OntheIssues.org, non-partisan guide to the candidates and the issues. Feels a little like it's being held together by chewing gum, spit, and a whole lot of volunteers, but definitely a good way to get a quick snapshot on where all the candidates stand.
  
  
• OpenSecrets.org is where you go when you wanna follow the money in the politics.
  
  
• I'm not a fan of RealClearPolitics because it's got too much opinion and not enough analysis. That said, I'm throwing it out there because it's got a lot of fans.
  
  
• FiveThirtyEight (leans left), Electoral-Vote (leans center-left), Pollster.com (neutral), and Election Projection (leans right) are all excellent sites that help the common voter make sense of polling, the Electoral College, surveys, and how news (and the lack of news) affect polling results from one day to the next. Highly educational whatever your political stripe.
  

---

P.S. — Can someone tell me where the summer went? All I know is that one minute it was June 30, and now it's September 8.

Do you realize that I still owe something like 5 people phone calls from the first week in July that I said I'd call? [Tries not to look at szandara and kurukami and a handful of other LJ-type people who might not want the general public to know they live near me.]

I swear I meant to call. I did.

But, see, I was kidnapped by this army of ducks while kayaking...



This meeting of the Glorious Duck Revolution shall now come to order. Top of the agenda: How do we get stupid humans to feed us more bread?
[Photo taken while kayaking the Charles River on Sunday, July 27, 2008. (Photo by Lizbeth Marcs)]

Comments

[ginmar.livejournal.com]

She keeps repeating the lies because that's what the Repubs do. I cannot be too cynical today. Lies are shiny and happy and neat. The truth is messy and complicated and tends not to resolve itself into a happy bow.

[kurukami.livejournal.com]

This is why I so very much want to do my get-the-truth-out-on-Palin-in-neat-little-soundbites-fliers project. : )

[ginmar.livejournal.com]

Do it. You can get linked all over. Try Melissa McEwan at Shakesville and spread it around. Just no sexism.

[kurukami.livejournal.com]

Here's the post I'd originally made last Friday. Take a look at it; I'd love your opinion on whether it's sexist or not. I tried my best to deliberately steer AWAY from anything sexist or relating to her family, which I think doesn't really apply to a political campaign.

[rudyhenkel.livejournal.com]

I will not, and cannot, defend the Republican party. However, you clearly haven't looked at some of the links provided if you think lying is a one-party monopoly. Look into it, and you'll find that both parties are a bunch of liars =/

[ginmar.livejournal.com]

You'd do wise not to assume that someone has not looked into matters in a manner you see fit. Thanks, but don't patronize me, dear. You're not up to standard in that area. I've been voting longer than you've been alive. I don't need your impertinent advice.

[rudyhenkel.livejournal.com]

Ok, then I would ask what your opinion is of the lies exposed on those sites (mainly the first two links,) made by the Democratic side of the ticket. Do you think that they are less serious in some way?

[rudyhenkel.livejournal.com]

I would also add that, although I regret the slightly patronizing tone, I don't care one whit how old you are, or what horrors you've seen. Age and experience of the world do not make one correct, or even wise. If they did, a lot more people would be supporting John McCain.

[ginmar.livejournal.com]

If John McCain had been guided by his age and experience, he'd be an honorable man, not a despicable party hack. At least be intellectually honest. One doesn't consult a twenty year old virgin for advice on sexual matters. I may very well be branding myself a whore with that analogy, but the glory of being an older bitch is that one realizes that unless others say it with bullets, there's no bite to it. I'd grant that there are those whose experience is greater than mine. That takes a big jump, however.

McCain was tortured yet endorses torture for others. McCain's sole honorable period in his life was when he was a POW, yet he denies that standard of care to others. The list is endless. He rejects his experience and his honor in order to curry favor with the dishonorable. Once again, your attempt to treat the parties as equal entities fails. The Democrats are no more in power these days than are Muslims, yet you try and make them seem equal parties in deception. In real world terms, they are not. That's reality. Factor that into your calculations. This is not theory; this is reality. Liberals are despised in America, and are distrusted and maligned. Such status means that however mendacious they are, they cannot do the damage that conservatives can. Why do you persist in trying to even a reality that is most definitely tilted? That is what most interests me.

Oh, and experience and age do matter. Let's dispense with that idiocy right now. Should I consult an untried twentysomething as to travel in various regions in Europe? Should I ask them about war? How ridiculous a perspective.

[rudyhenkel.livejournal.com]

I persist because I don't like people taking stances that are simply untrue, such as your position on John McCain and torture: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/630/

I also don't think that a liar is somehow "not as bad," simply because fewer people listen to, or respect them. My initial argument stated that both parties were, "a bunch of liars." I did not say, in any way, that both parties are equally damaging.

Your argument seems to me to be that because they don't have power, the democratic lies are somehow morally superior. And yet, there's no evidence that if they got power they would go away.

I am not a republican of any sort, and I'm definitely not arguing for McCain. I run an atheist group, if you don't believe me: www.marylandatheists.org I like to think that I despise both parties equally, though you may disagree.

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

What exactly are the bona fides behind "politifact", and why should we believe them?

[rudyhenkel.livejournal.com]

Oh my gosh! "politifact" is in on it too!

In all seriousness, Ms. Marcs might be better acquainted with their bona fides, as she was the one who recommended it. Perhaps I'll look into it tomorrow (I'm up too late as it is.) However, if you look at the site, the fact that they ruthlessly expose lies from all sides, as well as provide a very detailed history supporting their conclusions, is very impressive on its own.

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

I asked a question, son. I didn't cast aspersions on your honesty or your fact checking.

[ginmar.livejournal.com]

Stop putting words in my mouth, junior. If you want to know what I think, ask me.

And your google fu fails: When it became expediant, McCain voted for waterboarding. "Extra measures?" Really? How...not what you said. Given a clear opportunity to send a message about torture...McCain against it.

Do you argue that reverse racism exists, too? Seriously, that's what your arguments tend to lean toward. Do you understand the concept? Or is everything still just theory to you?

"I like to think that I despise both parties equally..."Then you're an idiot, because both parties are not equally, and that's quite frankly an asinine statement. The Right wants to take away birth control and abortion; the Left wishes to preserve the right to these things. Those are not 'equal' positions, though lazy thinkers who find complexity scary like to think otherwise.

I could give a shit about atheism or whatever your pony is. Democrats and Republicans are not flip sides of the same coin. That's the sort of mistake someone untested would make.