The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

On inauguration day, I decided to meet up with some fellow progressive friends and get plastered. One friend sported a satirical Trump t-shirt I designed for her, while I wore one which said, "Thanks Obama." At this particular bar, we bumped into a middle-aged man who was proudly wearing a Trump/Pence shirt. When I first walked past him, he tapped my shoulder and said something along the lines of, "How's your cell phone? Now that Obama's not president, it's probably not working too well, is it?" He then laughed, I shook my head, and walked away. I honestly had no idea what he was talking about, but after thinking on matters, I figured he was probably referring to the debunked conspiracy that the Obama administration created a program which gave away free cell phones to poor people, because, you know, free cell phones equals votes, even when a third term isn't possible. Later in the evening, after talking with some friends of mine near the Trumpst...

It really amazes me how little conservative Republicans seemed to have learned over the course of the past 6.5 years with President Obama in office. Without seeing poll results to illustrate this, I sometimes give them the benefit of the doubt, as I think to myself, "There's no way they still believe those conspiracy theories from 6.5 years ago!" Well, according to the latest Public Policy Polling poll results, I shouldn't have assumed as much. Here are the craziest results from the poll: - Just 29% of Republicans believe Barack Obama was born in the United States, while 44% do not (26% aren't sure) - Only 14% of Republicans believe President Obama to be a Christian, while 54% believe him to be Muslim (32% aren't sure) - 51% of GOPers said they would support altering the Constitution so that children of undocumented immigrants are not automatically citizens of this country, 31% oppose the measure (18% aren't sure) - 47% of Republicans either suppor...

To die-hard conspiracists, it seems that coincidence is nonexistent. Everything has to happen for a reason - everything has to have been planned by a person or group of people - probably a person or people of power. From Hurricane Katrina to Hurricane Sandy to the Columbine school shooting to the Sandy Hook school shooting to Benghazi to Oklahoma City to global warming to President Obama being elected and beyond, I can all but guarantee there is at least one group of people who believes in some sort of conspiracy theory explaining these events. I can understand conspiracy theorists to an extent. Most people want to understand the world's happenings and believe there's a reason to the madness. On that level, I see conspiracy theories as somewhat reminiscent of religious beliefs. While I myself am not religious, I can understand why many are. Many have the need to feel a sense of order to the world - to feel a purpose for their lives as well as others'. However, unlike wi...

Public Policy Polling just released poll results regarding conspiracy theories. For the most part, it appears as if a very small minority of people believe most such theories. However, there were some rather surprising results. First off, 33% of Republicans still believe that Saddam Hussein was involved in the 9/11 attacks, while 41% don't believe this, and 28% aren't sure. For the record, while Hussein was never going to win Best Man of the Year honors at any point in his life, he wasn't involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A fifth (20%) of Republicans also believe that President Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ and another 17% aren't sure. Democrats, meanwhile, strongly believe that then President George W. Bush misled this country on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction, as 72% of Democrats think this, while only 14% do not, and another 15% aren't sure. The numbers are the direct opposite for Republicans - only 13% of whom believe Bush misled th...