Selective Memory and Outrage at Cities 92.9

Tom Davis is outraged.

Tom Davis
(Photo courtesy All Access) 

Earlier this week, comedian Kathy Griffin posed for pictures with an effigy of Donald Trump's severed head. The photos created a backlash from people of all political persuasions, and got Griffin fired from some of her comedic gigs.

The incident, outrageous as it was, wasn't any more shocking or outrageous than the many incidents that occurred during Barack Obama's presidency in which effigies of the first African American president were hung or burned. There was even that time that Ted Nugent waved two machine guns on a stage during a performance while yelling "Obama, he's a piece of shit! I told him to suck on my machine gun!" Conservative newspapers have even printed cartoons of Obama that are blatantly racist:

Those incidents seem to have fallen into the Cities 92.9 memory hole. 

TOM DAVIS: "You know, I can think of the times that many people disagreed with the politics of Mr. Clinton, or Mr. Obama, not once did I see a severed head of those presidents anywhere in social media. However, when it comes to a person of the conservative persuasion, you know, death is always something that seems to be kind of like the tickle spot for some of those who just can't stand conservatives."

I don't recall seeing a severed head of those other presidents on social media either, but I've seen things that were just as bad, if not worse, from the conservative side of the spectrum. And when it happened during the Obama years, Obama and those around him - being classy people - said absolutely nothing. Donald Trump's son Donald Trump Jr on the other hand, used this incident as an opportunity to tarnish the entire left:

DONALD TRUMP Jr: "Disgusting but not surprising. This is the left today. They consider this acceptable. Imagine a conservative did this to Obama as POTUS?"

Of course, the only people who have to imagine a conservative doing something like this are those like Trump Jr, who chose to be willfully ignorant during the Obama years.

Local Conservative Voice Discovers Dark Energy

"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid" - Benjamin Franklin

Robert Rees, conservative host of the Morning Rush on Cities 92.9, a.k.a the news and misinformation of Bloomington Normal, continues his campaign of embarrassingly stupid commentary. To wit:

ROBERT REES: Illinois researchers are collaborating with scientists across the globe in their new project aimed at studying the universe and dark energy. Honestly, I think that's probably the first time I'd ever heard of dark energy. I'm not a real big space dude. I'm not a space geek. But, I usually have my pulse on most things. First time I ever heard of dark energy. And so I had to google it. Define dark energy for me google! This is what google tells me; it's a theoretical repul... wait, did he say theoretical? Did Mr. google just tell me theoretical? And so we're gonna study something that's theoretical? Oh my head is starting to hurt. I hope that taxpayer dollars do not go into this research and study. But it probably is. So yes, it's a theoretical repulsive force that counteracts gravity. Nothing can counteract gravity! What are you talking about? When I saw it, honestly, my first thought I swear, my first thought was black magic.

So, in the addled mind of the Local Conservative Voice, taxpayer money shouldn't be used to study things that are theoretical. Let that sink in for a moment, then take a look at two theoretical concepts that wouldn't receive public funding if conservatives like Robert Rees directed the funding for scientific research:

Germ Theory of Disease - This theory forms the basis for the modern understanding that germs play a major role in the acquisition of disease.

Gravitational Theory - This theory forms the basis for our ability to put humans on the moon and land robots on the surface of Mars.

You'd be hard pressed to find a living person who hasn't benefited in some way from one or both of these concepts, and gosh, according to Robert Rees, they aren't worthy of public funding, because hey, they're only theoretical.

What Robert fails to understand is that in science, a theory is a well-substantiated, well-supported, well-documented explanation for observations. That means that when something is referred to in science as theoretical, it is because it is the best explanation for the known evidence. Since dark energy is supported by multiple lines of independent evidence, it makes sense to refer to it in the theoretical sense. And since dark energy is theorized to make up the vast majority of our universe, and since we could all benefit from a better understanding of its characteristics, it makes perfect sense to publicly fund this study.

This profound ignorance that Robert expresses is not uncommon in conservative circles. Yes, there are liberals who are just as stupid, but it has become a badge of honor in conservative circles to reject and stay ignorant of science.