Hook, Line, and Sinker

“I don't believe that nicotine or our products are addictive.” U.S. Tobacco Company CEO Joseph Taddeo. 1994 Congressional Testimony.

Why are so many people so absolutely gullible? Why do so many people trust government and industry spokespersons? Why do so many people think Rush Limbaugh or a priest, a public relations spokesperson, or someone financially vested in whatever they might be peddling can be trusted? What makes us, generally, so stupid?

“If some environmentalists are to be believed, we are on the verge of massive global climate change…” http://www.skepticism.net/

Part of the answer must lie in the fact that many of us are willing to lie, to deceive, are greedy, and simply hate anyone who isn’t also greedier than hell.

“In fact, trans fats have been a part of the American diet since the early 1900s and they are hardly toxic.” http://www.consumerfreedom.com/

Part of the answer must lie in the fact that the intelligence of society’s members falls out along a bell-shaped curve. The median IQ is about 100. That’s not real smart. Many more than half of us are pretty dumb. Real dumb.

“When you track the genealogical record in God's Word you will discover that the earth is just over 6,000 years old.” http://www.godsaidmansaid.com/home.asp

Add greed into this mix and you find lots of self-serving predators and their hirelings willing to sell you a medicine they know is going to do nothing or even hurt your child, hide the fact their products are poisoning the earth, or the fact that they get their money directly from your paycheck and contribute nothing but sorrow and suffering.

“Animal research has played a vital role in virtually every major medical advance of the last century.” Foundation For Biomedical Research.

It’s pretty sad. In the past, this recognition has led to revolution. Unfortunately, during a revolution dummies get used and different liars take control.

“One of the main goals of laboratory animal scientists is assuring research animals are not exposed to any unnecessary pain or stress.” Kids 4 Research. http://www.kids4research.org/animals.html

The way out of this morass is probably a governmental system based on proportional representation. With our current winner-takes-all system, money can be concentrated on key races and assure that the powerful stay in control.

“Nuclear energy has perhaps the lowest impact on the environment—including air, land, water, and wildlife—of any energy source, because it does not emit harmful gases, isolates its waste from the environment, and requires less area to produce the same amount of electricity as other sources.” The Nuclear Energy Institute.

America is capitalism run amok.

“These results show that HIV-1 can induce AIDS in chimpanzees and suggest that long-term passage of HIV-1 in chimpanzees can result in the development of a more pathogenic virus.”

Virol., May 1997, 4086-4091, Vol 71, No. 5 Development of AIDS in a chimpanzee infected with human immunodeficiency virus type Francis Novembre, et al. Department of Pathology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. fnovembr@rmy.emory.edu

Hook, line, and sinker.

“Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.” Remarks by the Vice President to the Veterans of Foreign Wars 103rd National Convention. August 26, 2002.