Sarah Palin, ever the moron, in her big “policy speech” yesterday:
Where does a lot of that earmark money end up anyway? […] You’ve heard about some of these pet projects they really don’t make a whole lot of sense and sometimes these dollars go to projects that have little or nothing to do with the public good. Things like fruit fly research in Paris, France. I kid you not.
Take it away, PZ Myers:
This idiot woman, this blind, shortsighted ignoramus, this pretentious clod, mocks basic research and the international research community. You damn well better believe that there is research going on in animal models — what does she expect, that scientists should mutagenize human mothers and chop up baby brains for this work? — and countries like France and Germany and England and Canada and China and India and others are all respected participants in these efforts.
Yes, scientists work on fruit flies. Some of the most powerful tools in genetics and molecular biology are available in fruit flies, and these are animals that are particularly amenable to experimentation. Molecular genetics has revealed that humans share key molecules, the basic developmental toolkit, with all other animals, thanks to our shared evolutionary heritage (something else the wackaloon from Wasilla denies), and that we can use these other organisms to probe the fundamental mechanisms that underlie core processes in the formation of the nervous system — precisely the phenomena Palin claims are so important.
This is the type of ignorant Christian Nationalism, where hillbilly gut instincts and religious edicts trump knowledge and reason, that corrupt Republicanism has devolved into. This is what is meant to be “conservative” these days. It has nothing to do with the conservatism of years past, and everything to do with nativism (notice how Paris, France was included in the mocking- those god damned furriners!), reflexive hatred of the other, suspicion and derision towards those who know something, and cronyism. This woman embodies everything that is wrong with the current Republican party; there is a reason the know-nothings embrace her.
The only thing missing from the speech the bumbling and ignorant fool delivered yesterday was an attack on Michael J. Fox and stem cell research. Or maybe she could have attacked Arlen Specter as being a baby killer for embracing stem-cell research. That would have served as a poignant wingnut tribute to her predecessors.
These people must be absolutely destroyed on November 4th. It is a national imperative. This is more important than anything that happens in Iraq and Afghanistan. And why is it that the people who claim to adhere to the culture of life are so filled with hate for… people?
nicethugbert
Spot On.
Ben
Good God. She’s trying to come up with an example of a wasteful earmark, and THAT’S the best she can do? Mocking basic research? Oh, I despise her so.
Eural Joiner
My general experience is that these people will smile and often be polite – in that socially required kind of way – but if you start peeling the layers back they are all motivated by the same underlying emotions: fear and hate.
Now, to be fair, Dems/liberals also have segments of their movement that operate on the same wavelength but for the most part their party is about hopeful change for the future and becoming more inclusive. The Republicans have taken hate/fear and built an entire political party around it. They’ve gotten away with it for so long thanks to fiscal conservatives and the religious far-right. I think we’re really starting to see the wolf peering from ‘neath the sheep’s clothing here.
Soylent Green
At least Palin’s $11,400-a-week makeup artist doesn’t plaster on the makeup like a trollop.
Any form of scientific research in genetics seems to be anathema to these idiots, and McCain is on board with this crap with his oft-repeated bromide against studies of grizzly bear DNA. Genetic studies are becoming an indispensable foundation of ecology and wildlife management, central to our understanding of different species, their ranges and habitat requirements, and so on.
This bias against basic science is one of the worst aspects of the modern GOP.
Margarita
And why is it that the people who claim to adhere to the culture of life are so filled with hate for… people?
I think because people are a means to an end — God’s plan — not an end in themselves. Sheep, I think they call them. They’re pretty open about that.
Warren Terra
According to the NRO, John, the only reason you could possibly be questioning the perfection of the Moose Messiah is if you are suffering from repressed guilt over an abortion. Also, don’t you know that fruit flies aren’t even good eating? (Though as I recall, Seymour Benzer did make it a practice to try eating a sample of any organism he worked on.)
Clutch414
When did willing, prideful ignorance become a virtue?
Sheesh…
jrg
Palin (in all likelihood) does not believe in evolution. Why would she think that studying fruit flies would yield any benefit to mankind?
In her mind, people and fruit flies have nothing in common other than the fact that God blinked both into existence 6,000 years ago, therefore, anyone studying fruit flies must be interested in fruit flies, not to "probe the fundamental mechanisms that underlie core processes in the formation of the nervous system".
I fail to see how this ignorance on Palin’s part is some big fucking surprise. If she had any kind of exposure to science, she would not be McCain’s running mate. Ignorance is a requirement for the GOP.
The Thinking Man's Mel Torme
Richard Wolffe on K.O. last night was as angry as I’ve seen him about this statement. He called it (as best as I can recall) the most mindless thing she’s ever said. He outlined the same statements about animal research, etc.
Once, the nation hailed Jonas Salk as a hero. I suppose today Gidget would laugh at him as an elitist.
Notorious P.A.T.
I just don’t get it. When Sarah reads about scientists researching fruit flies, what does she think they are doing? Trying to train the flies to do tricks? It takes such a bottomless well of ignorance to be unable to imagine any benefit to experimenting on animals.
That, and denying that humans share a genetic heritage with any other animal.
Conservatively Liberal
What is interesting is that ministers/preachers refer to their church members as their ‘flock’, and the ol’ preacher is there to lead them.
In far too many cases, they lead them right off a cliff and into the loony bin. Sheeple indeed.
redbeardjim
As I understand it, the specific research she was talking about wasn’t basic genetic research with Drosophila, but work being done on olive fruit flies as a crop pest.
Not that that makes her statements any less ignorant/stupid/whatever, of course. Darn those scientists, tryin’ to find out how to improve agriculture an’ stuff!
DougJ
Good post.
I have to admit though, that autism is an issue where there’s a lot of nuttiness on both sides: Robert Kennedy Jr.’s shameless flogging of the vaccine link is one of the saddest chapters in the history of Salon and HuffPost.
The Thinking Man's Mel Torme
I went to Catholic school through junior high and we had a full-on scientific curriculum, with evolution and a flat declaration by my 5th grade science teacher that "the universe is 15 billion years old and that’s a scientific fact." This was greeted with not so much as a blink by the none-too-liberal parents. Then I moved to Florida for public high school and my bubble was burst, abruptly. When we covered the Scopes trial in American history, about 1/5 of the class got waivers to be excused from study on religious grounds.
If you come from the rational world, it really is difficult to understand the workings of these people’s heads. Hell, I’ve been living in the irrational world for most of my life, and I still don’t get it.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
I saw that last night too, and just about fell out of my chair when he said that (or maybe it was the tequila kicking in?) – because R.W. is one of those journalists who practices professional blandness and lack of emotion as a badge of seriousness to the Nth degree. To see him royally pissed off and letting it show was shocking.
Walker
It seems that they have lost control of the crazy:
Unrepentent Dennis - SGMM
You guys just don’t get it. All these kids need is lots of prayer and laying-on of hands. If they don’t get better it’s because they and their parents are unrepentent sinners.
Sheesh.
mellowjohn
otoh, if god blinked both people and fruit flies into existence 6,000 years ago, he must have blinked autism and down syndrome (not that the two have anything in common, except in john w. mcsame’s febrile mind) at the same time.
therefore, wouldn’t trying to do ANYTHING – either in basic scientific research or in educating special needs kids – be going against god’s plan?
Loneoak
Oh come on, people. Palin is not going to gut scientific research. She would just have the NIH shift funding over to speculative prayer techniques and an Apollo-like endeavor to prove that the King James Bible is the only true version.
Loneoak
Damn you Dennis. Stole my snark.
nabalzbbfr
Autism is, in the vast majority of cases, a fraud and a racket. It is a product of utterly misguided permissive parenting, which turns perfectly normal kids into dysfunctional antisocial brats. The problem is parents have been getting their advice from idiotic child-rearing books like Spock’s, instead of the Holy Bible: spare the rod and spoil the child. Scientific research on genetic causes of autism is a colossal waste of time and money, whether or not it involves fruit flies.
DonkeyKong
"Never go full retard"-Kirk Lazarus
Unrepentent Dennis - SGMM
Jonas Salk wasn’t a Real American. Louis Pasteur was French also.
b-psycho
She probably hates the research because you can’t shoot a fruit fly with a 12-gauge and expect to have anything left to study.
magisterludi
I still can’t get over the fact that she is still standing (or ever achieved any status) as an American political figure at all- that we’re even discussing her at a national level. She’s a walking talking culmination of everything that has gone wrong with America. Period.
ThymeZoneThePlumber
Once again, Wile E Coyote is standing flatfooted with soot all over his face.
Palin is failin. I can’t help but think that for our side, she is better than an ace in the hole.
Jacy
Maybe scientists could use fruitfly models to study the poor-white-trash gene, and there would be hope for a cure for future Sarah Palins.
Nah, on second thought, it’s probably incurable.
demimondian
This hits particularly close to home to me. You see, my wife has a Ph.D. in evolutionary development. Back in the day, she did research on a Drosophila gene called…well, I won’t tell you, because you could figure out her name. So what?
Well, this same gene has a homologue in humans.
In humans, mutations in that gene cause a certain rare developmental disorder.
The neonatologist who treated our second child tried to claim that he had that disorder, which, coincidentally, required debilitating — but, coincidentally, I’m sure — long and profitable treatment.
Our second child is, in fact, special needs, but he doesn’t have that disorder. My wife’s background played a part in us being able to effectively threaten the doctor’s license enough to make him back down from the threat to turn us in to the Florida Department of Child Protective Services when we refused to allow him to launch treatment.
Sorry, Sarah — that "useless" research saved one of my children, quite directly.
ThymeZoneThePlumber
Worst spoof I have ever seen.
John S.
Spooftacular!
No sane person would advocate for beating the autism out of a child. If you’re not a spoof, then might I suggest several more hours with the cheetohs in front of high electromagnetic output electronics while consuming products laden with HFCS. Oh, and make sure to move near a nuclear reactor, too.
I call it spare the world, spoil the wingnut.
Fulcanelli
Excellent Post, Mr. Cole.
I agree, the next few years must be spent publically crushing and utterly humiliating this embarrassingly stupid, luddite strain of thinking in the US. Pathetic.
ksmiami
I hate this woman with a passion – I don’t think I have hated anyone as much as her – I was never an anti Bush shrill, I just disagreed with his decisions and felt he was incurious, but I FUCKING HATE PALIN!!!!!!!!! I say we stop selling advil, lotion, make up and the like in the red states since obviously, these products are tested and based on animal research that are a waste of money.
b. hussein canuckistani (comrade)
Let’s not forget McCain sneering at wasting $3m on an "overhead projector" – that is to say, a planetarium projector for the Chicago planeterium. We are talking about one of the most effective tools for science education available, and it gets sneered away as an earmark. Contempt for science isn’t a bug with these people, it’s a feature, and foreigners are going to leave you behind with their fancy science learnin’.
MattF
Don’t forget, Palin’s speech was advertised as her major policy address– this means that there were lots of people reading, writing and reviewing it. It’s not just little Sarah Palin that we’re hearing here– it’s the voice of the faction that’s backing her.
Shouting at the Rain
I wonder which member of Team McCain wrote that for her and whether he/she will be leaving the campaign this week to "spend more time with his/her family"?
Maggie
Can I just say that not everyone who is for a pro-life culture is a hateful moron? I’m totally pro-life myself. Voted for W. twice on that account. I’m on strike from the Republicans now until they can get over relying on all this hatefulness. It’s not Christian. And it makes a mockery of the thing I care about — i.e. the pro-life position.
I’ve been arguing with my pro-life friends that they should repudiate the Republicans. Unfortuntely they still can’t get around Obama’s extreme record on abortion and his promise to Planned Parenthood to sign FOCA into law. Well, I can’t win their vote for Obama. But in their defense, to a person they find it repugnant to have to vote for McCain. They’ll be holding their noses.
I think they play into reactions like yours — cause God help them, there are a lot of "Christians" who are filled up to overflowing with a profoundly unChristian hatred. But try to remember that the fact that some or even many Christians are anything but doesn’t mean there aren’t actually some Christians out there.
Thanks for listening.
Jon H
"At least Palin’s $11,400-a-week makeup artist doesn’t plaster on the makeup like a trollop."
A comedian on the BBC noted that if they’re spending that much money on makeup, they must be using makeup to conceal that Palin’s really black.
ThymeZoneThePlumber
Well, but that’s the whole point of bashing the pro-life single issue voter. No offense to you and your well spoken views here, but when you have to hold your nose to vote for somebody who is truly an inferior candidate just to cling to a single issue, then the issue is being abused. America is divided on life v choice. It makes little sense for the two sides to trap themselves into political patterns that harm the country based on that division.
Your friends should let go of their noses and vote for the best presidential choice. If they can do that, and work to seek agreement instead of division on the issue, we will all be better off.
Also, nice post, send more.
MattF
@Maggie
Thanks. There’s a fundamental thing you shouldn’t do in politics– give power to thugs in order to defeat your political adversaries. Eventually, the thugs take over. Read the classic Dashiell Hammett novel "Red Harvest".
kommrade jakevich
Are these RealMommies & Babies or are they Democratic Liberal UnAmerican Mothers & Offspring?
beta mu
WOW, this is such fun! Watching all of the various hijinks with the McCain campaign, the reactions of republicans in general and my dear brother in particular, these last few days I’m in such a good mood. The carnage will be exquisite! Not locally, since I’m in Texas, but I can watch it where is does happen.
blogreeder
@redbeadjim
I agree. Why else would she say in France.
I think she was referring to this: (It won’t let me link to it without erasing the rest of my comment)
http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=reports_pigbook2008Oinkers
gil mann
"Pro-life culture" sounds like a hedge to me. Do you think a woman who has an abortion (or the doctor who performs it) should be charged with a crime? If not, you’re pro-choice, regardless of how much the practice offends your sensibilities.
That is pretty moronic, but if I’ve learned one thing from this site—okay, fine, my life—it’s that moronism is an acute, rather than chronic, condition.
Comrade Nixon Hailfire Palin
@ Maggie
Thank you for your post. Are you familiar with Douglas Kmiec‘s argument for Obama?
Jeff
To be fair, McCain is for stem cell research. Palin is not.
blogreeder
Not near as much as "pro-choice". At least "pro-life" is a label for what is really at issue, a life.
maxbaer (not the original)
John McCain, to save his mortal soul, needs to go full maverick and endorse Obama. WTF, might as well. It allows him to distance himself from the nutters that have taken over his party. Or he can go down with them.
TenguPhule
And with that, you totally disqualify yourself from serious conversation…ever.
TenguPhule
Why don’t we just call it pro-birthing instead?
All the interest seems to die away the moment they leave the womb.
Lesley
I’m surprised she mocks Paris, France considering her fondness for Louis Vuitton. Such "small town" luggage, that.
Delia
When I heard the clip of the Moose Queen talking on this issue here is what I thought: her advocacy for special needs children basically amounts to increasing the money for babysitting them or at most increasing programs in schools for them a bit. Her attack on the fruit fly research, i.e., on basic scientific research, indicates that a McPalin administration would have absolutely no interest in researching the biological causes of autism. That would be expensive and it’s easy to make fun of and score points off.
Aaron
Why are they the way they are?
Because they favor the Reptilian Brain.
Triune Brian Theory.. check it out.
blogreeder
But only in France.
Dickie Moe
Poor fools. It must be difficult to come up with ways to point out stupid things people say – so difficult in fact, that you have to make it up.
But really – go ahead and explain to me why there should be US federal govt earmarks buried in any bill.
Then, while you’re at it, explain to me why such earmarks have to be buried at all, and why the one mentioned in this post, is going to fund research in Paris, France.
Doesn’t Paris, France have its own govt?
Can’t we send the hidden earmark money to fund research in Paris, Texas instead?
Oh, maybe Paris, France one of those 57 states Ovomit visited. And will soon be the source of the major international crisis that will test the community organizer from Chicago.
Great work!
mabel dimwitty
Trouble is, sheep are very dim. Once they get an ideer in their ‘ead, there’s no shifting it… notice they do not so much fly as plummet
frosty
Perfect. And I am one of those that hope AND pray to someday benefit from those fruit-fly and internationally collaborative molecular studies to find a cure for Viral-Induced Myalgic Encephelomyopathy. Until then I degenerate daily. So Sarah, shut your yap.
Dan S.
"and why the [earmark] mentioned in this post, is going to fund research in Paris, France.
Doesn’t Paris, France have its own govt?"
Rep. Mike Thomas: (h/t Mike the Mad Biologist)
"The USDA will use some of that funding for their research facility in France. This USDA research facility is located in France because Mediterranean countries like France have dealt with the Olive Fruit Fly for decades, while California has only been exposed since the late 1990s. "
Certainly we can debate the wisdom of funding certain bits of scientific research via earmarks, and perhaps whether more money is being spent on studying how to combat an agricultural pest attacking the U.S. olive industry than the overall economic importance of that sector really requires, or something of substance. But while Dickie dutifully presents the current rightwing excuses, they don’t work – it’s obvious she (presumably, that is, her speechwriters) weren’t addressing any of these issues, just sneering at the ridiculous idea of funding scientific research on fruit flies! (haHAHA) – and in (giddly with malicious glee) Paris, France! (HAW HAW!) Which tells you pretty much all you need to know.
blake
Well said, and quite possibly the best ever use of the tag "Clown Shoes".
Nova K. Porterfield
Anecdotal reports support newer forms of play based behavioural therapies and alternative methods involving vitamins and dietary restrictions, although many autism kids experts vigorously disagree over whether these offer benefit. Is good that you can to read a little more about the disorder and if your family or friend suffer of autism is great that you can read and to know a little more about this disorder and of course have the possibility to understand the situations that suffer the people that have this kind of disorders. (some kids are awareness) Autism kids is the most common or is possible that until this moment is possible to see some symptoms of the autism and of course is possible that the doctor or professional that see or detect the symptoms and of course he can gives a good or better diagnostic.