Patriotic Pandering
I got some junk mail at my office today that was an advertisement selling little flags to put in your car window. They're the kind that have a base that rolls up into the window so the flag can flap in the wind. The ad says it's perfect for company picnics. Maybe I haven't been to enough company picnics to know that's a popular thing to do at them.
Here's the funny part--when I opened the mailer, across the top it says, "Not since 9-11 has the flag been needed more!"
Wait a minute. What? Did I miss something? What's happened recently to make this the most important time to fly a cheesy flag from my car window? I mean, the war in Iraq has been going on forever, so it's not that. Same with the "war on terror," so not that either. I'm stumped.
I guess I'll just chalk it up to a little patriotic pandering. This kind of feels like those televangelists that get trusting old people to donate money to their "ministries" in the name of Jesus.
Whatever it is, I guess I'm just not going to be one of those "patriotic companies [that can] give one to each employee as a symbol of their employer's pride in America." Wow. See how tricky they are? Now I'm not patriotic for not buying their cheesy stuff. This is just blowing my mind.
Some people will do anything for a buck.
Concerned Woman AWOL
My favorite Concerned Woman, Matt Barber (well technically
he is a member of Concerned Women for America, not an actual woman) has decided to
part ways with the right-wing organization. Barber was the policy director for cultural issues, and has had quite the career being anti-gay. He's going to, where else, but another right wing organization--the Liberty Counsel where he can continue to spread falsehoods about gay people, if he so desires.
No news yet on exactly why he decided to leave. I wonder if they'll keep their main public spokesperson's role in the hands of a man after this. I've always wondered about that decision.
Conservapedia
Wow, it's been a while! Life happens sometimes, I guess.
Some coworkers at work were talking about
Conservapedia today. I've heard of and seen the site before, but I figured it was worth talking about. Basically, it's the conservative's answer to wikipedia. I'm not really sure how wikipedia is "liberal" since anyone can change it, but for some reason some conservative people thought they needed an answer to it (here's a
list of their reasons why it's needed, but let's not forget that they can edit Wikipedia too), so this is what they created.
The site borders on being a parody of itself with some of it's entries and "popular articles." For example, in it's "
homosexuality" article, after a brief introductory paragraphy, the very first entry lists biblical references (this is after the topic is only given a one sentence definition). The entry goes on to claim no biological or genetic cause for homosexuality at all (not even as a partial influencing factor), quoting several studies, including one from the 1950's, two from the 1970's, and none (that I can see) from this decade. The entry goes on to "quote" the APA by linking to a Concerned Women For America article. Of course, there are several sections linking homosexuality and pedophelia, based on faulty research, and interestingly, and several more that mention the violence of the "homosexual movement." This stuff makes Paul Cameron look like a real researcher. If you're looking to get all riled up, please go check it out. I actually can't even believe people can write such blatant lies like that. Oh well.
So, this is what they are claiming is a honest and non-bias answer to wikipedia? Wow. Some things never cease to amaze. Sadly, this is the kind of stuff that my dad and stepmom would probably fall for. Maybe not necessarily the gay part these days, but some people are so eager to have their own beliefs validated, that they throw all critical thinking to the wind. This is what results.
I was going to link to some other stuff (it's "popular articles" lists things like dinosaurs, professor values, Hollywood values, homeschooling, and other conservative buzz words). This thing is really just blowing my mind right now. The fact that people fall for this type of stuff baffles me. Anyway, I think I've had enough. Check out the site for yourself and be amazed, and not in a good way.
