Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Michele Bachmann's Direct Line to God


Following the East Coast earthquake and Hurricane Irene, presidential candidate Michele Bachmann's response was as follows:


“I don't know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians,” Bachmann said to supporters. “We've had an earthquake; we’ve had a hurricane. He said, 'Are you going to start listening to me here? Listen to the American people because the American people are roaring right now. They know government is on a morbid obesity diet and we've got to rein in the spending.' ”
It must be great to have a direct line to God. It's strange, though, that God always seems to tell subscribers to the hotline exactly what they want to hear.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Ignorance is even more blissful if you're sure you know



We at the institute want to draw attention to a notable victory in the battle for the hearts and minds of Americans.

A just-released Gallup poll finds that 96 percent of Americans believe that they know "something" or "a great deal" about global warming and climate change.

Contrast that 96 percent figure with the results of a Yale University study last year that found that 92 percent of Americans would receive a C, D or F on what they actually know about climate change. Fifty-two percent would flat-out fail.

For example, 55 percent don't know that carbon dioxide traps heat being radiated from the Earth's surface, 43 percent don't know what the greenhouse effect refers to, and 75 percent have never heard of ocean acidification or coral bleaching.

It's a great example of the Dunning-Kruger effect, a cognitive defect that blinds people to their own deficiencies.

From a PR point of view, it's an accomplishment to convince people of your message--yet after all, that's what they get paid to do. But it's a work of art to convince people of a lie and also make them think they really know the truth.

Too bad there's no Oscar, Emmy or Nobel Prize for the dedicated people who have pulled this off!

Nobel Medal          Credit Chris Campbell/Creative Commons

High fives all around!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Time for a New National Holiday -- Creation Day!


With Rick Perry's Day of Prayer and endorsement of the teaching of creationism in Texas schools, Michele Bachmann's links to Dominionism, and the Republican presidential candidates' near-universal rejection of climate science (what's with Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman?), we thought it was time to pass on this timely proposal from The Committee for Creation Day:


August 23, 2011

The Committee for Creation Day
Washington, DC

“Creation Day: An Idea Whose Time Has Come”

Dear Senators
BARRASSO, BROWNBACK, CHAMBLISS, COBURN, CORNYN, CRAPO, DEMINT, HATCH, MCCAIN, RISCH, SESSIONS & THUNE


and Representatives
AKIN, ALEXANDER, AUSTRIA, BACHMANN, BISHOP, BLACKBURN, BLUNT, BOEHNER [and others]


and presidential candidates
BACHMANN, PERRY [and others],


First, we at The Committee for Creation Day want to congratulate those of you who have earned a Defenders of Liberty rating from the American Conservative Union. Your 100 percent advocacy of conservative values represents a remarkable intellectual, moral and political achievement, and is greatly appreciated.

Given your proven support for Christian values, we want to bring to your attention a proposal that we believe can help unify all right-thinking citizens behind God’s plan for the United States—Creation Day, a new national holiday.

As you know, in 1654 the great scholar Archbishop James Ussher calculated that God initiated Creation during the night preceding Sunday, October 23, 4004 B.C.

What could be more important than officially recognizing that awesome moment, especially during these crucial and difficult times?

--Making Creation Day a national holiday would provide further proof that the United States is a nation founded on Christian principles and relying on God’s grace and guidance for its success.

--Federal recognition of Creation Day would provide invaluable support for the state-by-state, school-board- by-school-board battle to provide public school students with a balanced understanding of the scientific theory of intelligent design versus godless evolution, and balanced access to the truth about Creation compared to scientific theories claiming that the universe is billions of years old.

--Official establishment of Creation Day would bring some much-needed joy into these difficult years of economic crises, droughts, floods and other catastrophes that herald the End of Days. Environmentalists have their Earth Day. Why shouldn’t the rest of us have the right to unite in celebration of the Universe’s Birthday?

We understand that there may be some technical problems with the date of October 23. It falls right between Columbus Day, October 10, and Veterans Day, November 11. Some might think that having three Federal holidays in a month would be excessive. However, given the current insolvency of the government, not to mention our shared desire to cut government down to its lowest possible level, the more time Federal employees have off the better. We’re sure that, like the FAA employees who continued to work without pay during the recent debt ceiling crisis, other Federal employees will be happy to be furloughed without pay should October 23 fall on a weekday. Or perhaps Columbus Day and/or Veterans Day could be moved to some other dates, for example to March and April, which lack Federal holidays, or simply cancelled. After all, the discovery of America and even recognition of our brave veterans pale in importance to officially recognizing the Day It All Began.

We feel that it is worth noting that if making Creation Day a national holiday could be accomplished this year, then the very first celebration would fall on Tuesday, October 23, 2012. That's exactly two weeks before the general election. Enough said.

We think that we can accurately note that we represent tens of millions of voters, not to mention potential donors who are in a position to support Godly politicians generously, who would appreciate and applaud your advocacy for, and, God willing, creation of this new and vitally important national holiday.

Help us Ussher in a new, God-fearing era in America.

Sincerely,


The Committee for Creation Day


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How much do you know about the state of the nation?

We're constantly exposed to one version or another of the idea of American exceptionalism. The politicians and advertisers remind us over and over again that the U.S. is number one, the richest country in the world, the most powerful, the shining “city on a hill” prophesied by our Puritan founders.

If you’re curious to see how well your knowledge about how the U.S. is doing matches what the statistics say, and if the U.S. still merits that number one spot, take this 20-item quiz.


 1. Among the 23 richest countries (measured by GDP per person), where does the U.S. rank in 
 terms of life expectancy (1 = highest life expectancy, 23 = lowest)?                                                _____                                                               
             2. Among the 23 richest countries, where does the U.S. rank in terms of income
inequality (1 = lowest ratio between top and bottom 20%; 23 = highest ratio)?                                  ____


3. Among the 21 richest countries for which data are available, where does the
U.S. rank on a health-and-social-problems scale that combines measures of
trust, mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction, infant mortality, life expectancy,
obesity, children’s educational performance, teenage births, homicides, rates of
imprisonment, and social mobility (1 = fewest problems, 21 = most problems)?                                    _____

4. Among the 22 richest countries for which data are available, where does the U.S.
Rank on the UNICEF index of child wellbeing, a combination of 40 measures of
children’s health and wellbeing (1 = healthiest for children, 22 = least healthy)?                                     _____


5. Of the 21 richest countries for which data are available, where does the U.S.
rank in terms of the percent of GDP spent on foreign aid (1 = highest, 21 =lowest)?                           _____

6. Of the 12 rich countries for which data are available, where does the U.S. rank
In terms of the percent of the population who have been mentally ill in
The past 12 months (1 = lowest percentage, 12 = highest percentage)?                                                ____

7. Of 22 rich countries for which data are available, where does the U.S. rank in
terms of the United Nations index of illegal drug use (1 = least use, 22 = most use)?                          _____


 8. Among the 23 richest countries, where does the U.S. rank in terms of infant deaths
per 1000 live births (1 = lowest infant death rate, 23 = highest infant death rate)?                                 _____


 9.  Among the 21 rich countries for which data are available, where does the U.S. rank
In terms of the percent of people who are obese—body mass index over 30—
(1 = lowest percentage of obese citizens, 21 = highest percentage of obesity)?                                     _____


10.  Among the 19 rich countries for which data are available, where does the U.S.
rank in terms of the percentage of children who are overweight (1 = lowest
percentage of overweight children, 19 = highest percentage of overweight children)?                            _____

11. Among 22 rich countries for which data are available, how do U.S. 15-year-olds
Rank on an international test of math and reading skills (1 = highest, 22 = lowest)?                           _____

12. Among 21 rich countries for which data are available, where does the U.S. rank
In terms of the number of births among teens aged 15-19 (1 = lowest teen birth
rate, 21 = highest teen birth rate)?                                                                                                       _____
                                                                                                   
13.   Among the 23 richest countries, where does the U.S. rank in terms of homicides
per million people (1 = lowest homicide rate, 23 = highest)?                                                                 _____

14.   Among the 22 rich countries for which statistics are available, where does the U.S.
Rank in terms of the number of people in prison per 100,000 citizens 
(1 = lowest rate of imprisonment, 22 = highest)?                                                                                  _____
                                                                                                                   
15.  Among the 11 rich countries for which data is available, where does the U.S. rank in
terms of social mobility, measured by how different a son’s income at 30 is from his
father’s income when the son was born (1 = high mobility, 11 =low mobility)?                                      _____

16.   Among 21 rich countries for which data are available, where does the U.S. rate
In terms of the percentage of children living with a single parent (1 = lowest
percentage, 21 = highest percentage)?                                                                                                 _____

17.   Among the 22 richest nations for which statistics are available, where does the
U.S. rank in terms of the number of patents issued per 1,000,000 citizens
(1 = highest number of patents per capita, 22 = lowest number per capita)?                                         _____

18.   Among the 11 rich nations for which statistics are available, where does the U.S.
rank in terms of the proportion of waste that gets recycled (1 = highest proportion
of waste recycled, 11 = lowest proportion of waste recycled)?                                                            _____


19.    Among the 23 richest countries, where does the U.S. rank in terms of carbon
dioxide emissions per person (1 = lowest per capita CO2, 23 = highest per capita)?                         _____

20.   Among the 25 richest countries, where does the U.S. rank in terms of the percentage
of children living in relative poverty--defined as below a country’s median income—
(1 = lowest percentage of children in relative poverty, 25 = highest percentage)?                                  _____

You'll find the correct answers below. 

These statistics (except for # 20, which come from UNICEF) are taken from the book The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger, by Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson. They lay out the case for the idea that, among rich, developed countries, it's not the amount of wealth but the degree of equality or inequality that makes the difference between a physically and mentally healthy, happy, well functioning and secure society and the opposite. They find that, among rich countries, those with high levels of income equality, such as the Scandinavian countries and Japan, do well on these measures of individual and social well being, while those with high levels of inequality, such as the U.S. and the U.K., do poorly. They think there is a cause-and-effect relationship between inequality and social problems, and that the most direct way to address this wide range of issues is to take steps to return the U.S. to a more equitable society.

 Correct answers:
1.  20/23 (4th lowest in life expectancy)
 2.  22/23 (2nd highest in income inequality)
3. 21/21 (highest level of health and social problems)
 4. 19/22 (4th lowest on child wellbeing)
5.  20/21 (2nd lowest percent spent on foreign aid)
 6. 12/12 (highest prevalence of mental illness)
 7. 19/22 (4th highest in illegal drug use)
8. 23/23 (highest infant death rate)
 9. 21/21 (highest level of adult obesity)
10.  19/19 (highest percentage of overweight children)
11.   17/22 (6th lowest math and reading skills at age 15)
12.   21/21 (highest teen birth rate)
13.  23/23 (highest homicide rate)
14.   22/22 (highest imprisonment rate)
15.   11/11 (lowest social mobility)
16.   20/21 (In a three-way tie for the highest level of children in single-parent homes)
17.   19/22 (4th lowest number of patents per 1,000,000 population)
18.   9/11 (3rd lowest proportion of waste recycled)
19.   22/23 (2nd highest per capita CO2 emissions)
20.   25/25 (highest percentage of children in relative poverty)