28
Morans
Jonah the Whale is over at America’s Shittiest Website™ complaining about yet another scientific study that demonstrates that conservatives are stupid. Of course, Jonah ironically and unwittingly adds yet another data point to that demonstration by dismissing the study after admitting that he hadn’t even bothered to read it.
An even better demonstration of the intimate link between wingnuttery and stupidity is this new ad from Maggie “A Storm’s A-Comin’” Gallagher’s National Organization for Marriage, which closes with this image:
I added the red underlining, but nothing else about that frame grab from the ad has been altered in any way. You’d think that the people that are making such a fuss about how gay terrorists are going to start blowing up churches and temples until every Catholic and Mormon marries someone of the same sex would at least learn how to spell correctly the very thing that they are pretending to protect.
actor212 said,
May 28, 2009 at 20:30
Well, damn, Jonah, maybe you ought to find a better class of audie–
Um, nevermind…
Alicia Morgan said,
May 28, 2009 at 20:31
But…but… but…they say they’re for marriage! Are they for education also?
pedestrian said,
May 28, 2009 at 20:34
Is our children is or is they ain’t learning?
Pere Ubu said,
May 28, 2009 at 20:39
It’s almost like when they become wingnut they sign a little contract stating that they will henceforth forget and dismiss all their previous knowledge of English grammar and spelling… unless they liked William Buckley’s column for such-and-such date, when they will become fierce defenders of True English against its liberal foes.
actor212 said,
May 28, 2009 at 20:39
Is a double positive the same as a double negative? In other words, does “same same” mean “different” or perhaps “queer”?
Arky4That1 said,
May 28, 2009 at 20:39
Clearly this is the work of the same subversive HomoTerrorists who made Miss California flaunt her trophies in front of a camera!
Arky4That1 said,
May 28, 2009 at 20:40
Clearly this is the work of the ^same same subversive HomoTerrorists who made Miss California flaunt her trophies in front of a camera!
Also.
The Tragically Flip said,
May 28, 2009 at 20:42
Well who would have a guessed a group that eschews education, nuance and healthy eating would suffer from reduced scores on standardized tests?
pedestrian said,
May 28, 2009 at 20:44
I would also like to point out that same sex marraige is legal in California, as only the ban on applying the word “marriage” was upheld.
Woodrowfan said,
May 28, 2009 at 20:47
what’s this study Jonah is whining about? I really don’t want to add to his click count…
Righteous Bubba said,
May 28, 2009 at 20:51
Gotta say, I’m with Jonah:
He deserves a click for that one.
Rusty Shackleford said,
May 28, 2009 at 20:53
I rate for opposite opposite opposite marraige.
The Tragically Flip said,
May 28, 2009 at 20:56
No criticism to bubba, but it is amazing to think that Jonah actually does deserve praise for being a conservative who has taken a brave stand against rape.
The bar for conservative basic human decency is about 5 inches above the bottom of the marianas trench, and Jonah just cleared it.
Till said,
May 28, 2009 at 20:56
The study in question. In fairness, I doubt Doughy has access to the full text, not without treading on the grounds of the local
Liberal Indoctrination Centrepublic university.Grace Nearing said,
May 28, 2009 at 20:57
After you graduate college, IQ proves to be of remarkably little use.
In fact, for conservatives it’s a drawback.
Pere Ubu said,
May 28, 2009 at 21:00
Maybe gay marriage is like marriage antimatter, and if a gay couple gets married and gets too close to a straight couple they’ll annihilate each other in a burst of hard X-rays?
Other than that I got nuthin’.
Righteous Bubba said,
May 28, 2009 at 21:01
I had to catch that one because Jonah’s going to allow some rape advocate that he has a point in an hour or two.
PeeJ said,
May 28, 2009 at 21:03
*ahem*
I’m just sayin
Fred E. Ceancis said,
May 28, 2009 at 21:04
Shorter Pantload’s reader:
“While this study is probably scientifically sound, it doesn’t matter, because who needs ‘cognitive ability’ anyway? Here are some things to shout at liberals if they bring it up.”
This is certainly central to somebody’s point.
Nom de Plume said,
May 28, 2009 at 21:05
Sort of puts me in mind of: http://tinyurl.com/nfpabw
MzNicky said,
May 28, 2009 at 21:05
Why would we think that?
gocart mozart said,
May 28, 2009 at 21:06
Most conservatives would agree that anal sex is O.K. unless it is consensual.
M. Bouffant said,
May 28, 2009 at 21:07
Yeah, I’m 100% w/ Jonah on this one too. If, maybe, I don’t believe it, no, they would have if it had happened …
Nom de Plume said,
May 28, 2009 at 21:07
The picture I linked to is a tad hard to read. For those wondering, it’s the famous title card from a lousy movie which reads “Attack of the the Eye Creatures”.
As for the ad in question, I happen to work in TV production, and I’m trying to imagine a scenario where such egregious errors could slip past all levels of quality control and actually make in on the air in a market the size of New York. I got nothin’.
Arky4That1 said,
May 28, 2009 at 21:17
Am I the only one hoping the NOMers do exactly what the ad tells them?
mextremist said,
May 28, 2009 at 21:21
I haven’t read the article yet, but my skepticism and disdain of these sorts of brayings is well-established now. Ignorance is no excuse for not having strong opinions on things I know next to nothing about. I am sure it will prove my point exactly anyway.
Wait, are we still talking about blowing goats?
Also, wolverines, also.
Uncle Mike said,
May 28, 2009 at 21:24
pedestrian, that’s awesome! I can’t believe nobody hit upon this solution before.
A man/woman union would be spelled “marriage.”
A same sex union would be spelled “marraige.”
Done and done.
GoatBoy said,
May 28, 2009 at 21:28
I sure hope so, mextremist.
Cowalker said,
May 28, 2009 at 21:31
So why didn’t they use < The Egg in their background shot of the New York state capitol? The whole reason gays can’t get married is that they can’t reproduce, right? How appropriate The Egg would have been behind their misspelled words.
Alkali Bill said,
May 28, 2009 at 21:32
The Tragically Flip said,
…eschews…
Julia Grey said,
May 28, 2009 at 21:32
As for the ad in question, I happen to work in TV production, and I’m trying to imagine a scenario where such egregious errors could slip past all levels of quality control and actually make in on the air in a market the size of New York. I got nothin’.
Explanation: everyone downstream from the moranic producers of the ad couldn’t stand to actually WATCH it before it aired.
It’s easy to overlook something you don’t really want to, you know, LOOK at.
djheru said,
May 28, 2009 at 21:33
Probably a teh ghey has infiltrated their ad agency. Oh, the horror! gheys in the advertising industry!
HP said,
May 28, 2009 at 21:34
Same-same marriage is a marriage where both spouses are the same sex. This is distinguished from same-different marriage, where one spouse is the same sex, but the other spouse is not. This is also known as opposite marriage.
El Cid said,
May 28, 2009 at 21:53
Merry-Age?
Bitter Scribe said,
May 28, 2009 at 21:59
Even for Goldberg, that was a remarkably lazy post. Fifty or so words, followed by a 500-word “update” from a reader that doesn’t really say much except “who cares, and I’m rubber you’re glue.”
Rusty Shackleford said,
May 28, 2009 at 22:00
Also, is The Corner basically Goldberg’s Post-It-note-on-the-fridge for leaving messages for his buddies? Don’t they have internal email?
PeeJ said,
May 28, 2009 at 22:04
Oh Mary-age!
Also, snap!
Xecky Gilchrist said,
May 28, 2009 at 22:05
I had to catch that one because Jonah’s going to allow some rape advocate that he has a point in an hour or two.
Yup – when he finds out that the blame is going all the way up to The Nobility, it’ll be time to backpedal. No matter how you slice it, A Reader finds a way to slice it such that IOKIYAR.
a concerned concerned citizen said,
May 28, 2009 at 22:09
“Same same” is Tinglish (Thai/English pidgin) for “very similar” or “the usual”. “Same same but different” means similar, but not same same.
a concerned concerned citizen said,
May 28, 2009 at 22:13
Oh, and it’s probably no coincidence that plenty of lads head to Thailand because their marriage only features “same same sex”.
cur said,
May 28, 2009 at 22:26
Sure you could call gay marriage “Marraige” but then you get into all sort of problems as to how it is pronounced. That would be un-American
Also, libraries are socialistic, and quite possible teh gay.
tigrismus said,
May 28, 2009 at 22:28
if a gay couple gets married and gets too close to a straight couple they’ll annihilate each other in a burst of hard X-rays?
HOT! Also: carcinogenic.
Athenawise said,
May 28, 2009 at 22:35
Marraige: n. Legally sanctioned relationship between two French persons of the same sex. [See also menage a deux and le doughy load de pantelons.]
cur said,
May 28, 2009 at 22:37
I was just browsing through some hot asian teen educational web sites and it got me to thinking and stuff. Can hermaphrodites get married? I am pretty sure it is legal in Brazil. I will have to get back to you on that after I do some more searches on Brazilian hermaphrodite love.
Tom said,
May 28, 2009 at 22:40
For same sex couples wouldn’t it be marriige or marraage? And for different sex couples it would be either marriage or marraige.
Tom said,
May 28, 2009 at 22:42
So what if an XY wants to marry an XYY? Aren’t they a different sex? Just asking.
cur said,
May 28, 2009 at 22:48
Tom,
An XY is a boy and an XYY is a boy, sometimes called a super male.
I think you get into some problems when you have XY’s that have SRY problems or non functioning mullerian inhibiting factor.
Arky4That1 said,
May 28, 2009 at 22:48
My guess, NOM, being comprised of major, serious and gigantic whackadoodles, feared some evile icky ghey would mess up their perfect add, so they issued very, very, very strict instructions not to change a single thing or they would scream.
And everyone who spotted the mistake looked at the mistake, looked at their instructions, smiled and let it go.
E.R. Satz said,
May 28, 2009 at 22:49
“How’s the sex in your marraige?”
“Oh, you know, same-same.”
Jay B. said,
May 28, 2009 at 22:59
Love Jonah’s “Update” with some 23-year old dickhead hoping to lay low for a couple of decades in academia before being outed as a conservative.
These people are the whiniest jackasses in history.
Till said,
May 28, 2009 at 23:17
He does a pretty crappy job of even pretending to be a scientist (plus, how does a current student not have access to an Elsevier journal?). At that age, he’s at least a senior undergrad, who should have significant experience reading the scientific literature and writing to that same standard.
At a minimum, you shouldn’t be so st00pid as to make sweeping assumptions about an article you haven’t even read. Studies that are trite or significantly flawed rarely make it through the review process of a major (non-vanity) journal. At least read the fucking abstract, which mentions IQ only as one of many factors.
Rusty Shackleford said,
May 28, 2009 at 23:25
He does a pretty crappy job of even pretending to be a scientist…
Let alone a student in (hard) science or math. The tell is he thinks being conservative is a hinderence in those fields, when anybody who has spent time in those departments can tell you it isn’t.
LD said,
May 28, 2009 at 23:31
I don’t suppose anyone could get that report and give a bit more detailed description of it? Alternatively, a link that won’t require me to pay for reading it myself is acceptable too.
Also, I have to ask, now does the “Call your senator” number work? Is the add only aired in area so no matter who see it, they are presented by senator one senator, or will the number connect to some sort of central, and get directed to “your senator”, assuming you know who it is?
Because I can sort of see how the average wingnut could fail even with these clear instructions.
g said,
May 28, 2009 at 23:36
What’s the photo on the front of the ad? Is it supposed to be San Francisco? sorry I don’t know the city well enough to recognize it.
Or is it a stock photo? It looks the Louvre or something. Did they pick the wrong stock photo, kind of like McCain picking North Hollywood Middle School instead of Walter Reed Army Hospital?
PaminBB said,
May 28, 2009 at 23:42
“We may conclude that, indeed, Conservatism at the individual level and Broad Conservatism at the country level are related to low performance on cognitive ability tests. These tests are used for the assessment of IQ. There is no assumption about the direction of causality in our findings. One is free to speculate, for example, that Conservatism causes low IQ. Alternatively, the two assumptions mentioned in the Introduction are equally plausible. Thus, in accordance with Jost et al. (2003) theory of motivated cognition, less able people cannot see many complexities of the situation and are therefore threatened by a larger number of events in the environment, becoming more conservative in the process. Or, one can postulate a third cause, common to both IQ and Conservatism that may be in operation. At the individual level, this may be rigidity. At the country level, this may be fundamentalism. At both levels it may be the lack of formal education or, indeed, a common source of covariation between IQ, Conservatism, measures of Failed States Index, wealth, the rule of law, democracy, freedom, and potentially a host of other variables.”
Posing a real chicken-or-egg conundrum.
Bill S said,
May 28, 2009 at 23:46
I have long believed that homophobia makes people stupid. Not simply that the more homophobic someone is, the stupider (although that’s certainly true). Homophobia seems to motivate acts of willful stupidity a functional adult would normally resist.
PaminBB said,
May 28, 2009 at 23:46
Oh and the phone number is that of the NY state senate.
Xecky Gilchrist said,
May 28, 2009 at 23:59
The tell is he thinks being conservative is a hinderence in those fields, when anybody who has spent time in those departments can tell you it isn’t.
I’ve spent more years than I really meant to in those departments, and I concur. In fact, political affiliation is rarely mentioned by anyone except the really extreme cases. Most often the only way you can tell someone is a conservative (or, more commonly, Libertarian) is the unbathed smell, and that’s far from conclusive.
cur said,
May 29, 2009 at 0:01
“Interests of disclosure: I’m 23, a student of experimental psychology and psychometrics, with a standardized IQ of 137 according to the test I took about two years ago. I’m about as conservative as they come.”
Equals
I masturbate to The Bell Curve
Till said,
May 29, 2009 at 0:03
I like the anecdote of Linus Pauling, who after winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 (for his work in supporting the Partial Test Ban Treaty), was scorned by his colleagues in the chemistry department at Caltech and more or less forced to leave. Just for trying to stop nuclear weapons from being tested above ground, and advocating peace.
tim said,
May 29, 2009 at 0:04
We need to protect marriage – from those that can’t spell marriage.
NOW needs to stop worrying about ‘teh gays’ and buy a dictionary or something. Maybe invest in spell check, or use the feature if it’s already there.
cur said,
May 29, 2009 at 0:08
I think NOW is something totally different than NOM.
Smut Clyde said,
May 29, 2009 at 0:13
Lazar Stankov (author of the paper in question) is a solid worker; not particularly doctrinaire. He’s been around for yonks, and retired from the University of Sydney back in 2003.
I saw him last year at the International Congress of Psychology in Berlin. He gave a couple of talks, including:
LittlePig said,
May 29, 2009 at 0:17
Mawwiage is what bwings us togethew today…
Ben said,
May 29, 2009 at 0:44
No same same sex marriage! Only new same sex marriages! If you’re going to defy God and marry someone of your own sex, you at least have to dump the loser your with.
The Very Reverend Battleaxe of Knowledge said,
May 29, 2009 at 1:17
Which brings up the question of same-sex divorce. These 18,000 “Marraiges” that the California Supreme Court left alone–if they break up, can they get a divorce, or is same-sex divorce not recognized, either? Would it help if they spelled it “Divocre”?
m13ky said,
May 29, 2009 at 2:15
Broad Conservatism factor can be identified when countries are used as units of analysis.
Yep. Conservative Broads are a serious problem. I offer the malkin thing and pam’s tits as objective data, and remind you that the plural of anecdote is data….
mikey
Big Bad Bald Bastard said,
May 29, 2009 at 2:35
Can hermaphrodites get married? I am pretty sure it is legal in Brazil. I will have to get back to you on that after I do some more searches on Brazilian hermaphrodite love.
You’re looking in the wrong country.
Julia Grey said,
May 29, 2009 at 3:30
Interests of disclosure: I’m 23, a student of experimental psychology and psychometrics, with a standardized IQ of 137 according to the test I took about two years ago. I’m about as conservative as they come.
“I couldn’t resist the temptation to brag about my score, so I’ll make myself look like a perfect fool. Despite what I would have been taught in those psychometrics classes, I apparently still don’t understand that many exceptions can exist in a body of data that nevertheless demonstrates a significant statistical correlation.”
More proof — if it was needed — that high standardized IQ does NOT equal “smart.”
jim said,
May 29, 2009 at 4:37
Direct empirical correlation between conservatism & stupidity + huge & growing pile of instantly accessible & free information on Teh Interwebz = GOP Moronageddon!
Looking forward to Michael Steele explaining why the most patriotic form of direct action Americans can perform in these troubling times is cracking yourself in the forehead with a hammer while huffing glue.
Anonymous said,
May 29, 2009 at 4:49
Divocre would have to still be lagel … it’s the veritable thrid rial of marraige poiltics.
wiley said,
May 29, 2009 at 5:01
Hey Till, you want another anecdote about Linus Pauling? When I was serving in nuclear forces in 78-79, it was understood that atmospheric testing was insane.
Goose said,
May 29, 2009 at 6:23
This one is a no brainer. No pun intended. I’ve always said that the phrase “intelligent Republican” is an oxymoron.
Listen to five minutes of Sean Hannity or Bill O’Reilly. Compare their “reasoning” to 5 minutes of NPR (which is not “liberal”, just not conservative).
Or read Jonah Goldberg or Bill Kristol and compare their assertions to Glenn Greenwald or Digby.
Or compare Sarah Palin to Janet Napolitano (both Western female governors although Napolitano now runs Homeland Security).
It’s like the difference between a kindergarten coloring book and a college level physics text.
There is no irrational, groundless, factless, non-researched claim too outrageous to be declaimed by the top honchos in the conservative world- led by their god, Rush Limbaugh, before whom all must (and have) bow down.
There is no cow too sacred to be analyzed and questioned by the “non-conservative” media. With lots of relevant, cogent, facts.
One typical example: “Barack Hussein Obama is a Socialist. He wants to pal around with terrorists. His birth certificate is a fake.” blah, blah, blah.
That’s the right wing approach to “criticism.”
The non conservatives analyzed the legal arguments made by Justice Department Attorneys, compared statements made by Obama on the campaign trail with those in office on issues like State Secrets claims by the government, gays in the military, and closing GITMO. Facts, logical analysis, reading the words in court decisions and in the Constitution. Citing historical precedent. Being rooted in the real.
Conservatives worry that terrorists from GITMO will somehow get loose and wreak havoc on the U.S. if they are transferred to U.S. prisons.
Non-conservatives note that we have somehow managed to try dozens of terrorists in federal courts in the U.S. and effectively (without a single escape) imprisoned the guilty.
In other words: conservatives = fantasy. Non-conservatives = reality.
You can use the word stupid if you want. I prefer cowardly, nervous, hateful, and delusional.
mythago said,
May 29, 2009 at 7:28
Sure you could call gay marriage “Marraige” but then you get into all sort of problems as to how it is pronounced.
Not at all. As has been suggested by more fabulous people than my own self, you just need to gay it up a little. “No, no, we don’t want marriage; we want mariage.” (Pronounced marry-AHGE with a big dramatic rise on the second syllable.)
kiki said,
May 29, 2009 at 12:40
Hono mups!
Leonard Pierce said,
May 29, 2009 at 14:45
The most super-awesome part of that reader response Jonah posted is that (a) the guy making the rebuttal also hasn’t actually read the paper, and (b) in the course of his argument against the idea that conservatives are stupid, he uses the word “moribund” when he appears to mean “myriad”.
actor212 said,
May 29, 2009 at 15:29
“Interests of disclosure: I’m 23, a student of experimental psychology and psychometrics, with a standardized IQ of 137 according to the test I took about two years ago. I’m about as conservative as they come.”
“I have a three inch penis and masturbate to pictures of Ayn Rand, Leni Riefenstahl and Eleanor Roosevelt…hey, a babe’s a babe!…using tweezers.”
mark f said,
May 29, 2009 at 15:39
in the course of his argument against the idea that conservatives are stupid, he uses the word “moribund” when he appears to mean “myriad”.
Either that, or else he’s far more self-aware than we’re giving him credit for.
The Very Reverend Battleaxe of Knowledge said,
May 29, 2009 at 16:06
I had a teacher once who constantly used the word “paramount” to mean “tantamount”, and proudly, as if he was so impressed with his own vocabulary that he could scarcely contain himself. It’s a goddamn wonder I didn’t bite my tongue off over the course of three quarters.
tigrismus said,
May 29, 2009 at 16:32
Divocre would have to still be lagel … it’s the veritable thrid rial of marraige poiltics.
Reproduced for pure AWESOME.
Bob said,
May 30, 2009 at 1:03
Same same sex is getting so old old.
Just Alison said,
May 30, 2009 at 2:16
Same same sex sex marraige is obviously a danger to all who sail in her.
Ahem. Speaking as an ex-mathematician, I can honestly say that politics never entered into our departments, except insofar as it related to dastardly plans by that evil administration to defraud honest mathematicians of their deserved livelihood, and the struggle between Pure and Applied (Stats, being so small a department, just trailed along behind).
I.e. departmental politics completely eclipsed any other variant of politics.
Also also, viz the pretendy commenter, I recommend asking a drunk mathematician about psychologists one day – it’ll be educational, provided you bring a raincoat to protect you from the spittle. In my day, at least, psych students (and many psych academics) were despised for not understanding the minor statistical tools they used to ‘prove’ things, and hence making a lot of grand an insupportable claims.
In closing: Mikey, it’s grand to see you back again!
Mooser said,
May 30, 2009 at 23:38
What are the buildings in the picture. Do they have some significance?