This is a great article that breaks down the lies about Healthcare reform, including names and citations about where and how and from whom the lies began; as well as what the truth is.

I found one comment to be exceptionally worth highlighting though:

The American media then presents itself as an umpire between “the rival sides”, as if they both had evidence behind them.

I’m sorry for going off on a rant here, but I frequently find myself in the middle of an argument about “bias” where it seems that the person is suggesting that “all sides” must be considered, regardless of validity or factual accuracy.

This is the tack taken by the “teach the controversy” crowd, aka “Intelligent Design” which is more commonly known as just “Creationism.” The refrain of “teach both and let the children decide” is really saying “tell children that they’re both on equal scientific grounds.” I’m sorry, but they’re just not. We’re seeing the same thing - in many cases from the same people - more and more frequently in topics such as the global warming, defense, and healthcare reform debates.

My stance - and while I’m sure this will ruffle some feathers, I’ll stand by it until the day I die - is that no, not all opinions are created equal. The fact of the matter is that some opinions are uneducated, intellectually off-base, factually bereft, monetarily biased, and not worth considering in any adult conversation.

Douglas Adams perhaps put it better when he said:

“All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated and well supported in logic and argument than others.”

I’ll be a little more succinct: some opinions are fucking stupid, and treating the proponent of a fucking stupid opinion like they have something to add to the conversation is just reinforcing “fucking stupidity” as an equally valid logical counterpoint to “educated response.”

Giving “stupid” the same intellectual weight as “smart” is the same as giving “wrong” the same weight as “right,” and result is that the difference between the two gradually disappears. You keep reinforcing “fucking stupidity” as a logically valid opinion worth considering from an intellectual standpoint, and you’ll keep getting people shouting “Heil Hitler” at Jews talking about national health care reform, or improperly using the terms “Nazi,” “communism,” and “socialist.” Start call a spade a spade, and this whole issue goes away.

Katie Couric could be interviewing Luke Skywalker on the importance of not blowing up Alderaan, and I gotta tell you, Darth Vader’s opinion of “Well, torture didn’t get Leia to talk…what else was I supposed to do?” shouldn’t have the same intellectual weight on the issue. But that’s what we’re seeing every day in the American news media. This fallacy that every opinion is worth considering equally is just simply not true.  Not all opinions are equal or carry equal weight. Not all statements are factually accurate. Not all people constrain themselves to logic, reason, or impartiality and yes, some people will say anything - ANYTHING - to “win” the argument.

So by all means feel free to exercise your right to free speech by having a fucking stupid public opinion, but don’t be surprised if I and others exercise our similar rights to publicly inform you that you’re fucking stupid before sending you back to the kiddie table for juice boxes and crayon time.  I’m tired of being polite (or as close to it as I get) and I’m tired of having to smile and nod at blatant stupidity.  From now on, a spade is a spade, and opinions worth mocking or lauding will be mocked or lauded as such.