# Annoying Propoganda My Relatives Sent Me (Issue 1)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [August 1, 2005, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108 "2005-08-01T07:57:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108/1 "2005-08-01T07:57:09Z")

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Now I’m all for justice where justice is deserved, kicking a moocher in the ass, and other conservative values that are generally viewed as nefarious–but look to me as being more long-term viable.  
But darn it people, stop sending me stupid propoganda that’s just thinking with your penis.  
Anyhoo, for today’s bit of humor value, I share **Annoying Propoganda My Relatives Sent Me** :\*

> [@](#):
>
> \>\> \> \>HISTORY TEST  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>Please pause a moment, reflect back, and take the  
> \>\> \> \>following multiple choice test. The events are actual  
> \>\> \> \>Events from history. They actually happened!  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>Do you remember?  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>1. 1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>a. Superman  
> \>\> \> \>b. Jay Leno  
> \>\> \> \>c. Harry Potter  
> \>\> \> \>d. a Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17 and  
> \>\> \> \>40  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were  
> \>\> \> \>kidnapped and massacred by  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>a. Olga Corbett  
> \>\> \> \>b. Sitting Bull  
> \>\> \> \>c. Arnold Schwarzenegger  
> \>\> \> \>d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of  
> \>\> \> \>17 and 40  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>3. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by:  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>a. Lost Norwegians  
> \>\> \> \>b. Elvis  
> \>\> \> \>c. A tour bus full of 80-year-old women  
> \>\> \> \>d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of  
> \>\> \> \>17 and 40  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>4. During the 1980’s a number of Americans were  
> \>\> \> \>kidnapped in Lebanon by:  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>a. John Dillinger  
> \>\> \> \>b. The King of Sweden  
> \>\> \> \>c. The Boy Scouts  
> \>\> \> \>d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of  
> \>\> \> \>17 and 40  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>5. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown  
> \>\> \> \>up by:  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>a. A pizza delivery boy  
> \>\> \> \>b. Pee Wee Herman  
> \>\> \> \>c. Geraldo Rivera  
> \>\> \> \>d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of  
> \>\> \> \>17 and 40  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>6. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked  
> \>\> \> \>and a 70 year old American passenger was murdered and  
> \>\> \> \>thrown overboard in his wheelchair by:  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>a. The Smurfs  
> \>\> \> \>b. Davy Jones  
> \>\> \> \>c. The Little Mermaid  
> \>\> \> \>d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of  
> \>\> \> \>17 and 40  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>7. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and  
> \>\> \> \>a US Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was  
> \>\> \> \>murdered by:  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>a. Captain Kidd  
> \>\> \> \>b. Charles Lindberg  
> \>\> \> \>c. Mother Teresa  
> \>\> \> \>d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of  
> \>\> \> \>17 and 40  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>8. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>a. Scooby Doo  
> \>\> \> \>b. The Tooth Fairy  
> \>\> \> \>c. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid  
> \>\> \> \>d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of  
> \>\> \> \>17 and 40  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>9. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first  
> \>\> \> \>time by:  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>a. Richard Simmons  
> \>\> \> \>b. Grandma Moses  
> \>\> \> \>c. Michael Jordan  
> \>\> \> \>d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of  
> \>\> \> \>17 and 40  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>10. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania  
> \>\> \> \>were bombed by:  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>a. Mr. Rogers  
> \>\> \> \>b. Hillary Clinton, to distract attention from Wild  
> \>\> \> \>Bill’s women problems  
> \>\> \> \>c. The World Wrestling Federation  
> \>\> \> \>d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of  
> \>\> \> \>17 and 40  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>11. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were  
> \>\> \> \>used as missiles to take out the World Trade Centers  
> \>\> \> \>and of the remaining two, one crashed into the US  
> \>\> \> \>Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by the  
> \>\> \> \>passengers.  
> \>\> \> \>Thousands of people were killed by:  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>a. Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote, Daffy Duck and Elmer  
> \>\> \> \>Fudd  
> \>\> \> \>b. The Supreme Court of Florida  
> \>\> \> \>c. Mr. Bean  
> \>\> \> \>d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of  
> \>\> \> \>17 and 40  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>12. In 2002 the United States fought a war in  
> \>\> \> \>Afghanistan against:  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>a. Enron  
> \>\> \> \>b. The Lutheran Church  
> \>\> \> \>c. The NFL  
> \>\> \> \>d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of  
> \>\> \> \>17 and 40  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>13. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and  
> \>\> \> \>murdered by:  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>a. Bonnie and Clyde  
> \>\> \> \>b. Captain Kangaroo  
> \>\> \> \>c. Billy Graham  
> \>\> \> \>d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of  
> \>\> \> \>17 and 40  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>Nope, …I really don’t see a pattern here to justify  
> \>\> \> \>profiling, do you? So, to ensure we Americans never  
> \>\> \> \>offend anyone, particularly fanatics intent on killing  
> \>\> \> \>us, airport security screeners will no longer be  
> \>\> \> \>allowed to profile certain people. They must conduct  
> \>\> \> \>random searches of 80-year-old women, little kids,  
> \>\> \> \>airline pilots with proper identification, secret  
> \>\> \> \>agents who are members of the President’s security  
> \>\> \> \>detail, 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and  
> \>\> \> \>Medal of Honor winning and former Governor Joe Foss,  
> \>\> \> \>but leave Muslim Males between the ages 17 and 40  
> \>\> \> \>alone lest they be guilty of profiling.  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>Let’s send this to as many people as we can so that  
> \>\> \> \>the Gloria Aldreds and other dunder-headed attorneys  
> \>\> \> \>along with Federal Justices that want to thwart common  
> \>\> \> \>sense, feel doubly ashamed of themselves – if they  
> \>\> \> \>have any such sense. As the writer of the award  
> \>\> \> \>winning story “Forrest Gump” so aptly put it, “Stupid  
> \>\> \> \>is as stupid does.”  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>Come on people wake up!!! Keep this going. Pass it on  
> \>\> \> \>to everyone in your address book. Our Country and our  
> \>\> \> \>troops need our support.  
> \>\> \> \>  
> \>\> \> \>And guess who just bombed London?

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. :smack:

I hope you all don’t get liberal stuff like this. Though actually I should get my mom’s parents to send me some stuff, just so we can have Equal Opportunity Annoying Propoganda and get both parties in here.

- I started removing the “forward” symbols, but decided to leave them just as a basis for comparing popularity. (Ah yes, this is a **4** on the **forward scale** yes yes.)

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**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108/2 "2005-08-01T11:38:16Z")

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Interesting. But I would like to know how law-enforcement personnel can tell the difference between Muslim males and other-than-Muslim males.

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**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108/3 "2005-08-01T11:49:14Z")

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It’s a stupid, ignorant email, in that everyone knows that young muslim males constitute the majority of terrorists, and that the vast majority of muslims are not terrorists, and most of those denounce it.

It is also heartening that the more enlightened muslim leaders are taking steps to curb their more fanatical members.

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**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108/4 "2005-08-01T12:08:34Z")

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It’s an interesting example of selective evidence. One could make a similar email using Chuck Manson, Ted Bundy, Timothy McVeigh, the Unabomber, BTK, Son of Sam, and Albert DeSalvo (The Boston Strangler) to show that all white males are pure evil.

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**Author:** ![Arwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Arwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arwin)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108/5 "2005-08-01T12:15:14Z")

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> [@Sage Rat](#):
>
> I hope you all don’t get liberal stuff like this.

Liberal?

…

I think you’re pretty much making the same mistake as this little bit of propaganda.

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**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108/6 "2005-08-01T12:33:51Z")

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> [@Arwin](#):
>
> Liberal?
> 
> …
> 
> I think you’re pretty much making the same mistake as this little bit of propaganda.

That I am aware, there is silly propaganda on either side…? I mean, obviously they’ll state stupid things with a different political leaning, but so far as I aware stupid was stupid regardless of whether you agree with the “lean” of the text.

Or do you mean because “Hunt down and string up dem Ayrabs!” isn’t necessarily a conservative-only belief? I would still bet that this is propaganda made by and intended for bible-thumping conservatives, even though there may indeed be enough hot-heads to buy into it on either side.

Anyhoo, I am simply posting this for humor value. Maybe when I get home, I’ll go through my mailbox to see if I can find some ex-gems.

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**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108/7 "2005-08-01T12:41:00Z")

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> [@Hypno-Toad](#):
>
> It’s an interesting example of selective evidence. One could make a similar email using Chuck Manson, Ted Bundy, Timothy McVeigh, the Unabomber, BTK, Son of Sam, and Albert DeSalvo (The Boston Strangler) to show that all white males are pure evil.

Hey, I welcome my WASP overlords!

…

hrm

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**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108/8 "2005-08-01T14:38:59Z")

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Alrighty, second one coming–no forward marks, so this one’s rating is **Unknown**.

> [@](#):
>
> Hockey Stick on Ice  
> Politicizing the science of global warming.
> 
> Friday, February 18, 2005 12:01 a.m. EST
> 
> On Wednesday National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman canceled the season, and we guess that’s a loss. But this week also brought news of something else that’s been put on ice. We’re talking about the “hockey stick.”
> 
> Just so we’re clear, this hockey stick isn’t a sports implement; it’s a scientific graph. Back in the late 1990s, American geoscientist Michael Mann published a chart that purported to show average surface temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere over the past 1,000 years. The chart showed relatively minor fluctuations in temperature over the first 900 years, then a sharp and continuous rise over the past century, giving it a hockey-stick shape.
> 
> Mr. Mann’s chart was both a scientific and political sensation. It contradicted a body of scientific work suggesting a warm period early in the second millennium, followed by a “Little Ice Age” starting in the 14th century. It also provided some visually arresting scientific support for the contention that fossil-fuel emissions were the cause of higher temperatures. Little wonder, then, that Mr. Mann’s hockey stick appears five times in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s landmark 2001 report on global warming, which paved the way to this week’s global ratification–sans the U.S., Australia and China–of the Kyoto Protocol.
> 
> Yet there were doubts about Mr. Mann’s methods and analysis from the start. In 1998, Willie Soon and Sallie Baliunas of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics published a paper in the journal Climate Research, arguing that there really had been a Medieval warm period. The result: Messrs. Soon and Baliunas were treated as heretics and six editors at Climate Research were made to resign.
> 
> Still, questions persisted. In 2003, Stephen McIntyre, a Toronto minerals consultant and amateur mathematician, and Ross McKitrick, an economist at Canada’s University of Guelph, jointly published a critique of the hockey stick analysis. Their conclusion: Mr. Mann’s work was riddled with “collation errors, unjustifiable truncations of extrapolation of source data, obsolete data, geographical location errors, incorrect calculations of principal components, and other quality control defects.” Once these were corrected, the Medieval warm period showed up again in the data.
> 
> This should have produced a healthy scientific debate. Instead, as the Journal’s Antonio Regalado reported Monday, Mr. Mann tried to shut down debate by refusing to disclose the mathematical algorithm by which he arrived at his conclusions. All the same, Mr. Mann was forced to publish a retraction of some of his initial data, and doubts about his statistical methods have since grown. Statistician Francis Zwiers of Environment Canada (a government agency) notes that Mr. Mann’s method “preferentially produces hockey sticks when there are none in the data.” Other reputable scientists such as Berkeley’s Richard Muller and Hans von Storch of Germany’s GKSS Center essentially agree.
> 
> We realize this may all seem like so much academic nonsense. Yet if there really was a Medieval warm period (we draw no conclusions), it would cast some doubt on the contention that our SUVs and air conditioners, rather than natural causes, are to blame for apparent global warming.
> 
> There is also the not-so-small matter of the politicization of science: If climate scientists feel their careers might be put at risk by questioning some orthodoxy, the inevitable result will be bad science. It says something that it took two non-climate scientists to bring Mr. Mann’s errors to light.
> 
> But the important point is this: The world is being lobbied to place a huge economic bet–as much as $150 billion a year–on the notion that man-made global warming is real. Businesses are gearing up, at considerable cost, to deal with a new regulatory environment; complex carbon-trading schemes are in the making. Shouldn’t everyone look very carefully, and honestly, at the science before we jump off this particular cliff?

This one I actually researched just to show that it was propaganda, with the results as follows: (Note that there is a mail in between the former and this that I am skipping.)

> [@Sage Rat](#):
>
> A) As stated, I was not talking about global warming-- and stated  
> specifically that you and everyone is missing the forest for all the  
> trees. Quite simply, “Is the world a better place with MORE or LESS  
> pollution?” If you can truly say MORE, then by all means move back to LA  
> for the lovely Orange skies. Otherwise be quiet and start urging GM to  
> build cars more like Honda–as obviously someone can build non-polluting  
> cars and still turn a profit. The easy path is almost never the road to  
> progress and I am not the kind of person to tolerate allowing people to  
> go down the easy path–which I would view as being a very right-wing  
> sentiment.
> 
> B)
> 
> > [@Mama Rat](#):
> >
> > The point is that the idea of Global Warming being a ‘man-made’  
> > thing is junk science.
> 
> The below link is for a commentary by Hans von  
> Storch–one of the names listed in the original article you sent.  
> Particularly note the last paragraph of the middle column.
> 
> [http://w3g.gkss.de/G/Mitarbeiter/storch/nature.commentary.pdf](http://w3g.gkss.de/G/Mitarbeiter/storch/nature.commentary.pdf)
> 
> The point he makes here isn’t that there is no global warming, just that  
> there is little statistical evidence that climactic change has  
> historically had major impact on economy or the general “healthiness” of  
> the ecosphere. Thus we are probably better off to get a clear  
> understanding of how exactly we will be effected before going gonzo over  
> “solutions.” But note that this is a commentary, not a scientific  
> document and I would expect that if you emailed Mr. Storch he himself  
> would admit that this is merely a statement of his opinion.
> 
> C)
> 
> > [@Mama Rat](#):
> >
> > No, as powerful as we like to think we are, and, as bad as we’d like  
> > to think that SUV’S, et al, are, the eruption of even one volcano  
> > totally shrinks all of the so-called man-made pollution on this entire  
> > earth by many, many times. We are just not that powerful. In fact, if  
> > there could somehow be a world law passed – perhaps for agricultural  
> > reasons – that we WANTED to warm up the world (in order to increase  
> > crop yields, for instance), there’s NO WAY that we could do it. No way  
> > at all. We couldn’t do it if we tried. The earth, the sun, the orbits,  
> > the weather systems, the miles and miles of atmosphere surrounding our  
> > world just cannot be manipulated by us. The belief that it can is just  
> > junk science.
> 
> Sources? I already stated that I would agree with the Ayn Randists that  
> regardless of whether anyone might come to a correct conclusion, it is  
> of no worth if it is based solely on feelings and gut reaction.
> 
> D) From what I can reconstruct between researching McIntyre & McKitrick,  
> Michael Mann, Richard Muller, Hans von Storch, and “The Hockey Stick”,  
> the truth between these individuals is as follows:
> 
> 1. Michael Mann is not a very good programmer and is, probably,  
> relatively poorly organized.
> 2. His work either came earlier than or others, or due to the above  
> issues has become a focal point–but in truth there are several dozen  
> other studies done independently at various times (and using entirely  
> different methods) which support a conclusion of “Hockey Stick” behaviour.
> 3. Hans von Storch is a good programmer and well organized and looking  
> over Mann’s research decided that it was junk. So he then created his  
> own program and created a much more accurate model. This is still a  
> hockey puck, just an accurate one.
> 4. Richard Muller appears to be more of a editorialist than anything  
> else–at least I found little hard data in anything I saw that he wrote.
> 5. M&M appear to be only slightly better programmers/mathematicians than  
> Mann. And while they are arguing that because they have “broken” his  
> puck, no one much cares because even in their own model, the last 100  
> years is still a sharp upturn–simply everything before that is changed  
> (to be a gentle downslope instead of a flat line.) And more importantly  
> is that many other and better researchers have already compiled much  
> more accurate graphs than Mann and M&M, so it is a bit late in the game  
> to be adding another faulty one–particular by a couple of bozos who  
> entriely ignore the last 100 years of their own graph to prove their own  
> politics.
> 6. Regardless of anything, world temperature has been accurately  
> recorded since 1890, so the last one hundred years of all graphs will  
> not change. Without disproving the core of the methods by which  
> temperature is guessed for previous ages, as time goes on each new  
> version of the “world temperature graph” will only become more  
> accurate–as better techniques are found. And on the path of progression  
> of these graphs continues, things are edging more towards a hockey puck  
> figure than away from it (for instance, into something entirely random  
> or cyclic.)
> 7. From this research I don’t know why the hockey puck exists, as I saw  
> nowhere where any evidence was used to show that it is due to greenhouse  
> gasses. My guess would be that this is because Mann, M&M, Storch, et.  
> al. are only concerned with temperatures, and not causes. But presumably  
> there has been related work where instead of graphing temperature, they  
> were graphing air contents or such and the conclusion of greenhouse  
> gasses = global warming comes from linking these two.

The following response was received:

> [@Mama Rat](#):
>
> Bravo! You are VERY good at research! I agree with you on your contentions  
> in just about every way (Surprised?)
> 
> You’re right; there IS Global Warming (to some extent).

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108/9 "2005-08-01T14:49:02Z")

</div>

Alright, this one’s actually mildly humorous:

> [@](#):
>
> Last week I purchased a burger at Burger King for $1.58. The counter girl took my $2 and I was digging for my change when I pulled 8 cents from my pocket and gave it to her. She stood there, holding the nickel and 3 pennies, while looking at the screen on her register.
> 
> I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters, but she hailed the manager for help.
> 
> While he tried to explain the transaction to her, she stood there and cried.
> 
> Why do I tell you this?
> 
> Please read more about the “history of teaching math”:
> 
> Teaching Math In 1950  
> \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?
> 
> Teaching Math In 1960  
> \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?
> 
> Teaching Math In 1970  
> \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?
> 
> Teaching Math In 1980  
> \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.
> 
> Teaching Math In 1990  
> \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* By cutting down beautiful forest trees, the logger makes $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the forest birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down the trees. (There are no wrong answers.)
> 
> Teaching Math In 2005  
> \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* El hachero vende un camion carga por $100. La cuesta de production es…

And apologies to Mods, I’ve just been wanting to put these to some use (not meaning to bump.)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108/10 "2005-08-02T01:06:39Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> Please read more about the “history of teaching math”:
> 
> Teaching Math In 1950  
> \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?

I just gotta say…it was really unfair of my parents to send me to school via time machine back to 1950!

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**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108/11 "2005-08-02T01:42:01Z")

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I agree there is lots of silly propaganda on both sides of the political spectrum. But I can’t recall any liberals espousing “HDASUTA!” Am I being whooshed?

> [@Sage Rat](#):
>
> That I am aware, there is silly propaganda on either side…? I mean, obviously they’ll state stupid things with a different political leaning, but so far as I aware stupid was stupid regardless of whether you agree with the “lean” of the text.
> 
> Or do you mean because “Hunt down and string up dem Ayrabs!” isn’t necessarily a conservative-only belief? I would still bet that this is propaganda made by and intended for bible-thumping conservatives, even though there may indeed be enough hot-heads to buy into it on either side.
> 
> Anyhoo, I am simply posting this for humor value. Maybe when I get home, I’ll go through my mailbox to see if I can find some ex-gems.

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**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108/12 "2005-08-02T01:47:12Z")

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At least those Spanish-speaking kids are getting good basic math skills.

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**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108/13 "2005-08-02T01:50:08Z")

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As someone who did once math for my living, and still teaches it, I decry the revisionist implication that all the “New Math” initiatives were put in place with left-of-center motivation.

IMHO, the Cold War (boosted by Sputnik) was the reason we thought we would beat the Soviets by teaching all our kids higher mathematics. (I was born in 1959 in West Virginia, and they started teaching us set theory in first grade).

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**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108/14 "2005-08-02T02:08:43Z")

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> [@F. U. Shakespeare](#):
>
> I agree there is lots of silly propaganda on both sides of the political spectrum. But I can’t recall any liberals espousing “HDASUDA!”\* Am I being whooshed?

No, I’ve heard enough random people after any terrorist event (9/11, London, etc.) suddenly switching off their brain momentarily to yell out some variant of “HDASUDA!” that I have to assume at least some of them are (registered) libs. (I’m certain I could find some on the board, even.) But more of, I just wasn’t sure what Arwin meant.

And I got the 50s math method–but my K-8 education was a little 120 kid school in the middle of nowhere being taught by mountain-men–so I’m doubting it’s representative. My fellow high schoolers in Seattle though, probably got 1970’s about.

- fixed spelling

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**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108/15 "2005-08-02T13:32:29Z")

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Regarding the “muslim extremists” email; I seem to recall a poster here created a great come-back email with ~20 or so crimes committed by fundamentalist white christian males. You should dig that up & hit the “Reply-All” button…

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**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108/16 "2005-08-02T13:41:40Z")

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> [@Earthworm Jim](#):
>
> Regarding the “muslim extremists” email; I seem to recall a poster here created a great come-back email with ~20 or so crimes committed by fundamentalist white christian males. You should dig that up & hit the “Reply-All” button…

There might be something to profiling religious extremist of any stripe, particularly the young males mostly between ages of 17 and 40. Maybe we should round up Jack Chick and his ilk (the Christian mullahs) and incarcerate them at Gitmo?

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**Author:** ![StaberindeMk2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@StaberindeMk2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StaberindeMk2)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108/17 "2005-08-02T13:51:58Z")

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A couple of years ago the first official mosque here (Northern Ireland) had been built and was being opened. Politicians and community leaders were invited to celebrate the occassion and most were only too happy to turn up, Ian Paisley however declined stating that “He did not wish to be associated with a religion of violence”.

Irony overload…_head implodes_

The above list makes about as much sense…

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**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108/18 "2005-08-02T14:15:59Z")

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So what was your score?

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**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108/19 "2005-08-02T15:17:10Z")

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I have seen far mroe conservative-leaning glurge out there than liberal-leaning essays. Look on Snopes, and you’ll see the same trend. I wonder why such glurge seems to be common for those on the right, not less so for the left?

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**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-propoganda-my-relatives-sent-me-issue-1/315108/20 "2005-08-02T15:35:19Z")

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> [@elmwood](#):
>
> I have seen far mroe conservative-leaning glurge out there than liberal-leaning essays. Look on Snopes, and you’ll see the same trend. I wonder why such glurge seems to be common for those on the right, not less so for the left?

Unfortunately the Republican party is currently propped up by the Bible belt, I think. Which is scary in that as rational republicans and non separate, the republican party is going to rupture leaving democrats to ride in and socialise everything.

But I give it at least 10 years to start coming to that.\*

- Official Sage Rat Prediction