I get tired of having to keep repeating on this blog that the world is growing tired of having to wait for Americans to get their shit together. As a Canadian friend, I really don’t like chastising Americans this way. It feeds the American stereotype that Canadians are smug. But screw it. With a CNN report that I just watched with batshit crazy citizens of this country convinced that we are now witnessing the apocolypse, what have I got to lose?
And when I say “get your shit together”, I mean it in the most basic fundamental way. That is, to know what is “fantasy” and to know what is “reality”.
To this community that knows the difference:
Get ready to bang your head against the wall with this poll reported by Editor and Publisher and The Washington Times…
50 PERCENT OF AMERICANS STILL BELIEVE THAT IRAQ HAD WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION WHEN THE U.S. INVADED.
This is up 36% from last year, folks.
Sigh. I don’t know what to say. The only thing that could have possibly affected this number was Rick Santorum’s hysterical and pathetic attempt to make the GOP look better by showing a classified Defense Intelligence Report that showed that they found (drumroll) aging mustard & sarin gas agents that were developed before the first gulf war.
This story made the networks but was debunked immediately on Santorum’s Fox News appearance by the Department of Defence themselves. However, Rumsfeld smelt a PR opportunity and played a long a bit as I recall.
(for a musical Flash Slapdown I made of this farce, please CLICK HERE.)
There’s a sucker born every day. With Fox News on the air, the birthrate apparently continues to acclerate.
72% OF AMERICANS BELIEVE THAT THE IRAQI PEOPLE ARE BETTER OFF NOW THAN UNDER SADDAM HUSSEIN’S REGIME.
With a civil war underway, and 6,000 Iraqis dead in the past 60 days — who can argue?
JEEZUS!!!
I had no idea the cognitive dissonance in this country was as high as it was — STILL. TO. THIS. DAY.
64% OF AMERICANS STILL BELIEVE SADDAM HUSSEIN HAD STRONG TIES TO AL QAEDA.
The lie continues.
41% OF AMERICANS BELIEVE THAT THE WAR IN IRAQ HAS REDUCED THE THREAT OF A TERROR ATTACK IN THE U.S.
This logic, quite frankly, scares the hell out of me. Of course, if we continue this logic — going to war with Syria and Iran will eliminate terrorism in the U.S. for generations, won’t it? Yep! Uhuuh. Pass the Coors, Jeb.
This poll was done by Harris and had a sample size of 1,020. The margin of error is +/- 3%.
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Upon a bit more reflection, the only hope that I can muster is that the questions for this poll were too general, so that Americans were allowed to answer these questions in the loosest way possible.
I will say “stupid Americans” this year.
There’s a 99.8% chance that I will cool down after that and redirect my anger at the American corporate media.
I saw that poll too. It’s all based on Santorum’s crazy stunt about those decaying chemical rounds that no one ever denied existed, and the pr Fox and the other cable news outlets gave him.
…I really don’t like chastising Americans this way. It feeds the American stereotype that Canadians are smug. But screw it..
Well, it certainly doesn’t do much for the American stereotype that Canadians are polite.
…the world is growing tired of having to wait for Americans to get their shit together.
Try living here. Better yet – in the South.
Life since 2000 has been no picnic for the Americans on this site either, you know.
If you’re serious, do something about us. I mean it. All talk and no action: Haul our ass before the UN, the world court, and any other international forum you can. Take economic action against us. Form an alliance of the sane. Form a replacement for NATO and make a point of not inviting us. Hell, tell us to keep the fuck out of your thawing Arctic straits, and follow up with more than First Nations folks waving harpoons at us. Pull out of Afghanistan. Pull out of NAFTA with the announcement that you’re selling your oil to the Chinese. Make nice with France, Russia and/or Venezuela. You have more options than you’ve been implementing so far, too. Just look at how you related to the U.S. during Vietnam. Not quite so cozy.
Hell, the way Bush has managed foreign and military affairs you’d probably get no worse than a repeat of the War of 1812 – and Bush would be looking up his fire insurance policy.
Damn, there’s hardly anyone on this site that’s more respectful to Canadians than I am (after all, you may be getting a knock on the door from BooTribbers some dark and stormy night), but cut me a break – all of us have to live with this nutcase regime for another 2.5 years.
And it’s not like he was elected free and clear outright either time.
With your current Prime Minister’s track record, I could say something about people living in glass houses not throwing rocks.
To my Canadian cyberfriends – please pardon my rant. Some folks could trip over a gold ingot on the sidewalk and complain they skinned their knee.
Hey, I’m not saying Canadians are perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But the suggestions you make are pretty far-fetched if you ask me. We are, afterall your biggest trading partner in the world. Unfortunately, we can’t navigate our country out of the region, either. And, as a traditionally peaceful nation, we don’t have a big budget going towards our military.
Look. All I’m saying, as a friend, is that the ENTIRE WORLD is quickly losing patience with this ignorance and apathy that is so pervasive in your country. Something needs to be done. The whole world knows the answers to these questions — why don’t Americans? This diary should be another wake-up call.
As for Harper, he has minority government (due to a scandal with our Liberal gov’t) and he will be out on his ass come the next election (within a year or so). His most recent display of unconditional support of Israel’s actions in Lebanon will, hopefully, be the final nail in the coffin.
Why?
Because the Canadian media actually brings a more complete version of the news to its citizens.