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October 23, 2004

Simply Amazing...

Electablog* has a really good post on a new PIPA poll that reveals a truly shocking level of ignorance among Bush supporters.

A few selected excerpts:

- 72% of Bush supporters (B.S.) still believe that Iraq had WMDs. (OK, stop here for second. Because I occasionally inject humor into my posts, I want to make something totally clear: This is not a parody.)

- 75% of B.S. believe that Saddam was providing substantial support to Al Qaeda. 60% believe most experts agree with this conclusion and 55% believe that was the ultimate finding of the 9-11 commission report. (This is ignorance at its worst. The B.S. are wildly wrong, and yet they don't even know that their position is marginal.)

- 75% of B.S. perceive the administration as saying that Iraq was providing substantial support to Al Qaeda.

There is lots more! And it goes well beyond the Iraq War. Read the rest of it here: Stand Up and Befuddled - The Shocking Untruth

To me this is a scathing indictment not only of the Karl Rove spin machine and our domestic media that regurgitates much of that spin as "news", but also of our school systems. Critical thinking isn't something one is born with! It needs to be taught. And last, but not least, it's a scathing indictment of the willful ignorance of partisan zealots.

Dale Carnegie made one of the most profound observations in human history when he wrote, "a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." Personally I think Herbert Spencer said it even better - "There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance - that principle is contempt prior to investigation."

Posted by Kevin at October 23, 2004 07:54 PM