A recurring theme among the anti-Bush crowd is the idea that those who voted for him are somehow less informed than they are. It is as though they believe heartland is under some sort of press blackout, without internet access as well. Some of these "elites" seem to think everyone who voted for Pres. Bush is too stupid to know what the truth is and has to be shown the truth.

I will repeat:

Those without even a high school diploma voted for Kerry.

Those with post-grad degrees voted for Kerry.

Everyone else voted for Bush.

In other words, a thin crust of elites supported Kerry, and they were follwed by mindless hordes of the impoverished and illiterate.

(And everyone else voted for Bush...)

Yes, they also have higher rates of suicide, failed marriages, and crime

Wrong, David.

Bible Belt leads in divorces

South's murder rate leads the nation.

During 1990-1994, a total of 154,444 persons committed suicide in the United States; 15% of suicides occurred in the Northeast, 22% in the Midwest, 25% in the West, and 37% in the South. source.

Note that the highest number 37% comes from the South. And if you go to the link and read about the suicides, you will see that the people who commit the most suicides in the West are Native Americans or Alaskan natives and abuse of alcohol was a major factor.

Gosh, three errors and I haven't even made it past your first sentence here David. How fitting you put an Ann Coulter book on this page.

Boom,

You need to read the WHOLE report, not just the first paragraph. Here is what the report goes on to say:

Regional crude suicide rates were highest for persons residing in the West (14.1 per 100,000 population), followed by the South (13.1), Midwest (11.4), and Northeast (9.3).

um, David, I did read it all. The line you quote talks about adjusted suicide rates per the population. That would make the west the highest because the west has more people.

It said there were more suicides in the South. Then when it breaks it down by state, 10 of the 13 states with the highest rates are in the west. That is because of the number of people in states like Wyoming, Arizona or Idaho, etc. There aren't many people there, so one person killing themselves there will lead to a higher percentage of suicides in that state than one person in California killing him/her self.

I said: That would make the west the highest because the west has more people.

correction: that would make the west highest because of the lack of population in many western/midwestern states.

percentage wise, the west leads, but the actual number of people taking their lives, the south leads.

Lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offence. Lying about the evidence for a war that has killed thousands is a solid defence strategy. What's to whine about?

As to IQ and voting habits, Republicans can draw some comfort from the fact that the average IQ of their voters (91) doesn't quite fall within the range considered to be retarded (75-85).

You missed the part, David, where Rail says:

72 percent who cast votes for George W. Bush, according to a University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) and Knowledge Networks poll, believe that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or active WMD programs. 75 percent think that a Saddam-Al Qaeda link has been proven, and 20 percent say Saddam ordered 9/11. Of course, none of this was true.

Kerry voters were less than half as idiotic: 26 percent of Democrats bought into Bush-Cheney's WMD lies, and 30 percent into Saddam-Al Qaeda.

It is funny how Kerry was portrayed as a Northeastern elite, out of touch with the common man, when Bush was born in Connecticut, was born into wealth, went to a prestigous Northeastern school, and lived a life of priviledge. The perfect example of a Northeastern elite.

Sink a few million into a farm in Texas, and you are in touch with the common man........

Com on...just a little further, guys. The next stage is 'acceptance'. Then you can quite your collective sulk and put your game faces back on.

Your consistently substantive contributions are always appreciated, urthshu.

Thank you thank you. I'm here all week. Don't forget to tip the waitress.

The next stage is 'acceptance'.

Actually, if I take a cue from conservatives, the next step is tolerance, and I can fight that and I never have to accept.

We don't need the society of the clueless and misinformed telling us how to live our lives.

We work hard every day... We tuck our children into bed after hugs and kisses goodnight... We achieve meaningful things every day, understanding that anything of lasting value must center on faith and family, not goods and services.

We achieve meaningful things every day, understanding that anything of lasting value must center on faith and family, not goods and services.

I've been so inspired by Comrade Flanagan's inspiration words that I've forwarded them to every Marxist-Lennonist, Shiningtime Stationist group I can think of. David Flanagan is a true communist inspriration who brings communist political philosophy into the 21st century via the USA.

We achieve meaningful things every day, understanding that anything of lasting value must center on faith and family, not goods and services.

Man, if that David Flanagan was any more Communist, he'd be collectivizing Ann Coulter up her pooper while Bill O'Reilly shakes his fist at his ex-gf.

bcb-
Tolerance. I'll take that. Its a start.

yeah, well the right will get it, when it gives it.

Boom,

Actually, I'm not sure how you can use these statistics to show that the cultural elites, which is the topic of this post, have higher or lower rates of suicide, etc, than the regular population.

The fact is, I can't really show you statistics either. The purpose of this post was just a response to the ignorance of Rall that he could equate "the meaning of life" with fine dining, movies, and clothes and then still accuse the rest of the country of not knowing about "what is going on in the world."

Who knows, maybe the cultural elites do know more about what is going on in the world, but they have no CLUE about what is going on in their own country. Their are not even sensitive to, much less competent with, their own culture!

Thanks,

David

Jim,

The whole "faith and family" message runs counter to communism. Communists are not big on religion, the state is their god. And family is defined by, and run by the state as well.

Which sounds more like what liberals want, doesn't it? Perhaps, to borrow a Freudian term, there is a bit of transference going on here?

I would recommend you talk to your therapist about this when you see them next. This could be a breakthrough moment for you.

Good luck.

David

Rich,

You too should pay closer attention to the information that you use. The link you give us in your short but shallow comment has this to say of your data:

I have recently been emailed by someone claiming to have seen a retraction many issues later on the behalf of the Economist Magazine. The Economist could not independently verify the IQ data and the retraction can be found here.

The fact is, I can't really show you statistics either.

I know, but you just threw that misinformation out there. Thank you for rewording your original blog.

maybe the cultural elites do know more about what is going on in the world, but they have no CLUE about what is going on in their own country.

This is true. The fact that so much of this country wants the government to endorse their religion did catch the intellectuals offguard.

The fact that so much of this country wants the government to endorse their religion did catch the intellectuals offguard.

And now it is your turn to throw some misinformation out there. :-)

What caught the elites off guard was that Kerry could lose despite all the tens of millions they spent (Soros spent $24 million of his own money and got nothing out of it!) and they STILL could not buy themselves an election.

Thanks,

David

"the elites"

it's downright scary how certain segments of the right just love to play around with codewords like this.

the next thing you know, a 51% win will be a 'mandate'.

oh wait...it already is!!!

Rall titles himself as an elitist, does he not? Wouldn't an elitist be a member of the elite? IF you do not like the term elite, how about "smug person who thinks he is smarter than everyone else because he paid more for his education"? A bit longer, but it has the same meaning, in the context of this article anyway.

"smug person who thinks he is smarter than everyone else because he paid more for his education"

interesting.

except for the "paid more" part, most of the posts chiding liberals for their reations to the election seem to fall right smack into the middle of that category.

The fact that so much of this country wants the government to endorse their religion did catch the intellectuals offguard.

And now it is your turn to throw some misinformation out there'

Before I say 'touche! you got me', let me ask you: Do you want the government to outlaw abortion due to your biblical belief? Do you want the government to not allow same-sex marriage due to your biblical belief? Do you oppose stem-cell research, funded by the government, due to your religious belief? etc. etc. yadda, yadda, yadda.

the red states constitute a "coalition of ignorance" face it repubs, 95% of Bush's support comes from the deep south and midwest. these areas are well know for their ignorance and intolerace of people that dont think, act or look like them. they share a common mindset that consist of a rabid nationalism, homophobia, racial bigotry, religious zealotry and foremost white male supremecy. these people obviously ignored bush's miserable record of failure in the whitehouse because they were terrified that democrats threatened their neanderthal "values"..get real.

Before I say 'touche! you got me', let me ask you: Do you want the government to outlaw abortion due to your biblical belief? Do you want the government to not allow same-sex marriage due to your biblical belief? Do you oppose stem-cell research, funded by the government, due to your religious belief? etc. etc. yadda, yadda, yadda.

Let me handle the questions in order:
1) I don't want the federal government mandating abortion based on some fantasy constitutional priviledge. The issue should go back to the states. Overall, I oppose abortion except in cases of rape, incest, and danger to the health of the mother.
2) Their is no such thing as same-sex marriage. Marriage is a precondition for societal survival, therefore, the government has a vested interest in the protection of this institution. I do support civil unions, though, that will turn into a mess because, later, people will want civil unions for multiple partners, for same-sex partnerships, etc.
3) I oppose the use of stem cells for research based on the fact that we are destroying humans in their earliest form in order to save other humans. We are dealing, not with an issue of Christian morality, but of human morality in that we are literally cannibalizing one group of humans to try and save another group. Their are huge ethical issues here that we have yet to discuss as a society and it makes sense to me to go with other lines of research, such as the more successful research using human stem cells and stem cells from placentas.

Do all these opinions of mine have roots in my Christian beliefs? Sure they do, and in common sense too. Can the government interfere with and/or uphold laws based on Christian beliefs? Sure they can. Just read the 14th Amendment.

Thanks,

David

Left,

You should take a look at the county-by-county voting results map from the election. Once you see the vast ocean of red for Bush, you'll understand why everything you say is, in your own words, simply a "mindset that consist of a rabid nationalism, homophobia, racial bigotry, religious zealotry and foremost white male supremecy."

Learn to think for yourself if possible.

Thanks,

David

1) I don't want the federal government mandating abortion

mandating? Like forcing women to have abortions against their will?

Marriage is a precondition for societal survival

How did we ever survive without it? Marriage must have been around when we were still cro-magnons otherwise we certainly wouldn't be here, huh? Let me ask you this: How does allowing me and my partner to get married, so that my child has the same protections yours does, keep you and your lover from getting married too? Answer, it doesn't. Allowing me and my partner to get married does not take away from the only way you all know how to further the human species. If the government wants to protect marriage, the way to do that, is to allow marriage, something the government already does. Sure rooted in common sense, huh?

Hmm, a closed feudal society based on a foundation of superstitious ignorant peasants kept in check by fear and bigotry, and a hierarchy of greed, ruled by a kleptocracy which occasionally sends out armed forces of indentured servants to intimidate tribes it is sure it can intimidate.

No wonder Brand USA is seen as "special" around the world.

Wow, what a bunch of tiny tools. Y'know as long as you stick to picking your own lice, you monkeys are somewhat amusing. Maybe we'll give you a preserve.

now the US military are indentured servants!!! We need to get that wall built and quick!!!

David,

I saw that bogus map, you seem to forget that democrats live in those counties along with republicans. That isnt shown and gives a false impression. A better map would show how each side voted in the each county. I have a question for you. Bush got the highest total of popular votes ever for a presidential candidate. Who got the second highest total? The mindset of southern/midwestern conservatives is exactly as i say it is..Its been proven over and over historically. You offer nothing to rebut my post. YOU should learn to think for YOURSELF.

David Flanagan: I oppose the use of stem cells for research based on the fact that we are destroying humans in their earliest form in order to save other humans. We are dealing, not with an issue of Christian morality, but of human morality in that we are literally cannibalizing one group of humans to try and save another group.

Presumably you oppose all military operations, then.

david:

You too should pay closer attention to the information that you use.