# Stupid Republican idea of the day **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 26, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897 "2009-03-26T18:48:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1311
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/26202 "2015-12-15T04:22:29Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Well, yes, but, the first thing I did was zoom in until I could see the actual change - wouldn’t anyone? > > I use “bullshit” slightly differently; an element of actual mendacity is required for me. Using something that’s factually true but superficially misleading _with the deliberate intent to mislead_ is a classic form of bullshitting. It’s the so-called “axis change” technique among [misleading graph methods](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misleading_graph#Misleading_graph_methods). ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/26203 "2015-12-15T06:34:54Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > I find politifact ratings to be a terrible measure for anything. Thier own articles can differ from the rating. The NYTimes piece linked, if it’s the same one I read, has itself a link to Maddow complaining that Politifact is bad at their job, to show that they’re not partisan Democrats [del](just bad at their job).[/del] ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/26204 "2015-12-15T06:48:33Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > Today, Missouri State Representative Rick Brattin (R-Harrisonville) sided with the latter sentiment and pre-filed a bill that would strip NCAA student-athletes of their scholarships if they refuse to play for any reason “unrelated to health.” What about “related to studies,” or do student athletes suddenly not need to worry about that? ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/26205 "2015-12-15T10:12:31Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Not really a stupid Republican idea, more of a notable explosion of my patented Bullshitometer of the day which happens to be from a conservative source - but it made me laugh my ass off and I feel the need to share my mirth. Behold, [the only climate change graph you need to see](https://twitter.com/NRO/status/676516015078039556), courtesy of the National Review. Quick! Someone alert **doorhinge**! ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/26206 "2015-12-15T14:30:02Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Using something that’s factually true but superficially misleading _with the deliberate intent to mislead_ is a classic form of bullshitting. It’s the so-called “axis change” technique among [misleading graph methods](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misleading_graph#Misleading_graph_methods). I think there was an illustration exactly like this one, in the classic text, “How to Lie With Statistics”. Two charts side by side, one labelled “Payrolls Remain Stable!” and one “Payrolls Up!” Same numbers, different scale on the Y-axis. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/26207 "2015-12-15T15:09:20Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > I think the point is that it’s deliberately misleading by showing a y-axis range so much greater than the actual variation in the graph. The casual viewer is supposed to glance at it and say, “huh, there’s not actually much change going on there!” > > Disregarding, of course, the fact that the axis goes from -10 degrees F to 110 degrees F, whereas the global average temperature range capable of supporting life as we know it goes from only about 50 to 65 degrees F. > > Once you know that, a temperature increase of about 2 degrees F starts to look rather more significant. My favorite part is how tacked on the -5 and -10 are. We can make this BIGGER! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/26208 "2015-12-15T15:19:04Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Ah, but then there’s this quote from the article Yes, but the article is stupid. If the legislature strips scholarships from athletes for speaking out, that’s a First Amendment violation. Stripping scholarships from athletes for _refusing to play_ is clearly not; the act may be symbolic, but it’s not the symbolism that is being punished. Put another way, you cannot constitutionally be penalized for burning a flag, but you can still be penalized for breaking the municipal fire code. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/26209 "2015-12-15T16:05:45Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Using something that’s factually true but superficially misleading _with the deliberate intent to mislead_ is a classic form of bullshitting. It’s the so-called “axis change” technique among [misleading graph methods](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misleading_graph#Misleading_graph_methods). Thanks for the Wiki link. This is a topic I discuss when I teach charts in Excel, so I’ll include it next semester. I show plenty of Fox News charts, and just added the House committee chart on Planned Parenthood. I got many misleading charts from Tufte’s _The Visual Display of Quantitative Data_. For completeness sake, does anyone have the raw data from which the chart was derived? I’d like to see it scaled from 50 to 70F to show my students the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/26210 "2015-12-15T16:05:54Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > My favorite part is how tacked on the -5 and -10 are. We can make this BIGGER! To make it smaller! ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/26211 "2015-12-15T17:08:43Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > For completeness sake, does anyone have the raw data from which the chart was derived? I’d like to see it scaled from 50 to 70F to show my students the difference. Somebody [twitted it back at them](https://twitter.com/RyanMcGarry/status/676519177973202944). I managed to track the image to [here](http://www.treehugger.com/climate-change/2013-marked-thirty-seventh-consecutive-year-above-average-temperature.html), which points to the [Earth Policy Institute](http://www.earthpolicy.org/data_center/C23). I think [that](http://www.earthpolicy.org/datacenter/xls/book_tgt_climate_13.xlsx)’s the dataset, there’s also one in Celsius if you’re teaching in a sane country. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/26212 "2015-12-15T18:32:07Z")
Scalia is an asshat, and I will not shed a tear for him if he dies in office and Obama or Clinton gets to replace him. But it does annoy me that it is on one of the rare instances that he says something that is absolutely correct that the outrage meter goes up to infinity. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/26213 "2015-12-15T18:59:25Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Scalia is an asshat, and I will not shed a tear for him if he dies in office and Obama or Clinton gets to replace him. But it does annoy me that it is on one of the rare instances that he says something that is absolutely correct that the outrage meter goes up to infinity. Do you have to wonder why? He’s essentially repeating that long-debunked _Bell Curve_ crap. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/26214 "2015-12-15T19:48:07Z")
Nope. Did you actually read what he said? ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/26215 "2015-12-15T19:52:28Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Scalia is an asshat, and I will not shed a tear for him if he dies in office and Obama or Clinton gets to replace him. But it does annoy me that it is on one of the rare instances that he says something that is absolutely correct that the outrage meter goes up to infinity. Now you know how I feel as a supporter of the Citizens United decision. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/26216 "2015-12-15T19:53:35Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Nope. Did you actually read what he said? Almost nobody has. And it’s not even clear yet whether he was saying it or merely discussing what someone else had said. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/26217 "2015-12-15T19:58:21Z")
Instead of being coy, I will spell it out. He was not saying that black people were inherently incapable of meeting the rigorous admission standards for UT. He was questioning, as I and other reasonable people question, the wisdom of waiving those standards to increase African-American enrollment beyond that which would be attained by admitting everyone based on objective academic standards. Everything he said would also be consistent with the assumption that letting in a less qualified white applicant through a side door could also get them into academic trouble and ultimately not be beneficial to them. But this case is about letting in less qualified African-American applicants. Now, maybe my even saying that would be controversial, in which case we are seriously getting into Orwellian territory. There is no disputing the fact that this program does exactly that: lets in black applicants who do not meet the standards that white or Asian applicants must meet to be admitted. This is just a fact. The only questions are whether that is good for the people being admitted, and/or whether it is fair to those white or Asian applicants who lose their spots as a result. It is possible for it to be good for those who get the preference and unfair to those who do not; or for it to be good for the first group and not especially unfair to the second; I don’t see how it is possible for it to be bad for the group they are trying to help, yet still be a good idea overall. P.S. I support the Citizens United decision as well, even though I very much dislike the Citizens United _group_ and what they stand for. For me it is about civil liberties, and no different from my support of the right for Nazis to march in Skokie Illinois. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/26218 "2015-12-15T20:10:16Z")
Ugh. Illinois nazis. Here’s the thing though … I don’t buy the “it’s just a fact,” portion of that post. Affirmative Action programs are designed to tip the scales toward \*qualified \*minority applicants, not just any random black person who applies. I don’t buy the whole, “this qualified white guy didn’t get in so the black person who did get in must not be qualified,” thing. On the other hand, I don’t hear much bitching and moaning about athletic scholarships, which fucking clearly admit under-qualified students to prestigious colleges and universities. More money in football Saturdays than library Tuesdays, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/26219 "2015-12-15T21:23:02Z")
No inconsistency on my part. I think athletics should be taken out of universities altogether except as intramural activities. As for your other claims: > **[Actually, Scalia had a point | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2015/12/13/opinions/mcwhorter-antonin-scalia-affirmative-action/)** > > John McWhorter: Justice Antonin Scalia can cite some legitimate research to back up his question on affirmative action. > [@](#): > > It’s often thought that affirmative action at universities means admissions committees considering racial diversity only after assembling a pool of students with the same caliber of grades and test scores. Few reasonable people would have a problem with that kind of system, but it isn’t what animates critics of racial preferences. Rather, the question is whether black and Latino students should be admitted on the basis of diversity with lower grades and test scores than the levels that would admit a white or Asian student. > > There is no question that this has been common. It was most widely aired during the Grutter case against the University of Michigan. The question was not whether black undergraduates were regularly admitted with lower grades and scores, but whether this was appropriate. Also, the very fact of studies addressing what is called the “mismatch” between their dossiers and the schools they are admitted to demonstrates that the mismatch, itself, is real. > > Now, at this point, many object that despite the mismatch, the students excel nevertheless. Here is the rub: the data is in, and in crucial ways and too often, they do not. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/26220 "2015-12-15T23:08:31Z")
[Ben Carson’s sure-fire guaranteed plan to destroy ISIS.](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ben-carson-plan-defeat-islamic-state) I like how he only wants Sunnis in his army. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/26221 "2015-12-15T23:46:25Z")
[Fox news commenter arrested in Washington state for making death threats against employees of a Planned Parenthood associate company.](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/fox-nation-stem-express-threats) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1310) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1312)