Hard to believe what idiots think of Obama
Shocking, but there were dumb people before YouTube, too
Is Barack Obama a terrorist? The smiling woman answers: "He's got the bloodlines. Just think about the name. The name says it all."
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And there's your chill-down-the-spine moment for the day. Yes, there are people who really believe Barack Obama is a terrorist. Just think about the name. That name says it all.
A couple of videos under the title "The McCain-Palin Mob" have well over 1 million hits apiece on YouTube and have been in heavy circulation among e-mailers. Tim Russo of bloggerinterrupted.com shot the videos at a McCain rally in Strongsville, Ohio.
Prodded by questions such as, "Do you think Barack Obama is a terrorist?" these fine citizens offer a variety of stunningly ignorant comments, including:
"I think he's a one-man terror cell."
"He's got the connections. Look at his name."
"He's friends with terrorists."
"Sarah's a normal American . . . Barack is a politician. A seasoned politician."
"I think he's a communist and a Marxist. I think he was indoctrinated by the teachings of his father."
And this one, from a child: "You need gloves to touch [Obama]."
Another YouTube montage features such enlightened comments as, "When we're at war with the A-rabs, we don't need an A-rab president," "Obama's a Muslim, he's a terrorist himself" and "Screw Obama, boooo!"
One e-mailer who sent me the link to the videos wrote, "This is the most frightening thing I've ever seen."
Scary, yes. Surprising? Nah.
Those random dolts don't represent the entirety of the McCain voter base. They're just . . . misinformed.
From the time when dinosaurs and humans walked the Earth together,* there's always been a certain percentage of people who aren't too bright. That percentage is exactly 34.6, and it's never changed.
Of course it's a jolt to see people smugly spouting ignorant, false statements -- but if the world had YouTube in the 18th century, you'd have seen video of people proclaiming, "Everyone knows that if you keep walking far enough, you'll reach the end of the Earth and then you'll fall off."
Then again, some of those folks in Strongsville might have said the same thing last month had the topic come up.
(*That was a joke.)
If you're thinking about dressing up as Sarah Palin for Halloween, you could go the bold route and go as Photoshop Sarah, complete with red-white-and-blue bikini and prop gun. Or you could go as "Can I call you Joe?" Sarah, with the conservative attire and the trendy glasses.
But however you play it, you're probably going to see at least two or three other versions of Sarah Palin at any good-sized Halloween party.
On the guy side, expect to see one or more Jokers, complete with face paint and smacking lips and the whole "Why So Serious?" thing.
Once again this year, I'll be dressing as the Guy Who Stays Home on Halloween and Wonders How This Kid's Diversion Became a Major Fake Holiday.
She made up the whole thing.
In mid-September, a 17-year-old high school senior claimed she had been abducted from a sandwich shop in Palos Heights and sexually assaulted at knifepoint by an "olive-skinned man."
Almost from the start, there were rumors at the girl's school that the story was bogus. Last Friday, the girl's family released a statement offering apologies for the hoax. Authorities said they will not charge the girl with any crime, nor will they try to recoup the reported $250,000 police spent on the investigation.
As the SouthtownStar reported, the family's attorney said on Saturday that the girl is "an immature kid who made a very big error in judgment." He also said she was "suffering from some pretty serious emotional problems."
The reader comments from some of the online stories about this case range from sympathetic to red-hot anger to calls for harsh punishment.
I just find the whole thing sad. A 17-year-old is not a kid, and "a very big error in judgment" is an understatement. Anyone who concocts a story about something so horrible, including a description of a nonexistent suspect that was sure to stir up racial issues -- that's someone who is deeply troubled.
The girl will do community service. One hopes it involves the type of work that will help her understand the gravity of her mistake. One also hopes she gets all the help she needs, because what she did was sick, truly sick.