Reverse Palin Derangement Syndrome

“Palin Derangement Syndrome” is a term that conservative bloggers made up because they think it mocks people who have anything negative to say about Sarah Palin. But after reading the responses to my previous post about Palin’s merely average intelligence, I see that the real problem is Reverse Palin Derangement Syndrome. Palin’s supporters become deranged and unhinged when you present evidence that Palin is not very smart.

The comments on this blog have seldom been as nasty as the ones generated by posts negative about Palin. This demonstrates that blogging the truth about Palin causes cognitive dissonance. Ad hominem attacks are often the standard response to cognitive dissonance. Thus, one guy went on and on saying how dumb and unaccomplished I am. Hey, the post wasn’t about me, it was about Sarah. Attacking me may make you feel better, but it doesn’t change the fact that Palin was one of the least intelligent vice presidential candidates in our nation’s history.

Even Steve Sailer may be partially under the grip of Reverse Palin Derangement Syndrome. Steve Sailer is the blogger who carefully proved that George W. Bush is smarter than Kerry, and he has researched every minutia of Obama’s life, but he apparently is unable to apply the same logic, consistency and research skills to Palin. In response to my post about Palin, he copied an article about Biden’s plagiarism incident. This is an example of a red herring argument. Whether or not Biden is an honorable person is not relevant to assessing Palin’s IQ.

As I stated before, one’s intelligence has to be one standard deviation above the median in order to be able to graduate from law school and pass the bar exam. Yes, just about every single lawyer is in the top 16% of the population. But the interesting thing about intelligence is that it’s relative. If your intelligence is two standard deviations above the median (top 2%), a guy who’s intelligence just barely makes the top 16% cutoff will often appear to be stupid. And someone who’s intelligence is only average, like Palin, will often appear to be a complete moron.

I once knew a lawyer who didn’t know that Washington DC was a district and not part of another state. How could a lawyer not know such a thing? This is why it’s so perfectly believable that Palin didn’t understand that Africa was a continent and didn’t understand the difference between South Africa and southern Africa. (And no, this story is not a hoax. Why don’t the people who said it go on the record? Obviously because once you go on the record of telling the truth about the stupidity of your boss, you’ll never get another job in politics ever again. People shamefully value their careers over informing the American public.) Not understanding that Africa is a continent is exactly the type of ignorance displayed by someone who’s just a regular person and not above average. People who insist the story has to be false because there’s no way a governor of a state could be ignorant of such basic geography are in a strange state of denial.

Reverse Palin Derangement Syndrome causes people who have it to blame everything on liberal media bias. Actually, as far as I can tell, because Palin is a woman, the liberal media has been very reluctant to really dish it out on her. If a man as unintelligent as Palin were nominated, we really would have seen some serious bashing. This was part of the calculated strategy that went into selecting her—because she was a woman, they knew that the press would be afraid to attack her. But the problem for the political operatives who thought her selection was a good idea is that they didn’t know about the science of intelligence, otherwise they would have seen the signs.

The final symptom of Reverse Palin Derangement Syndrome that I will mention in this blog post is the refusal of the afflicted to admit that Palin hurt McCain in the polls. They will scream, “SHE RALLIED THE BASE!!!” But an examination of the CNN exit poll shows what a disaster Palin was for the McCain campaign. For example, 32% of voters said that Biden was unqualified to be President, and 80% of those voters voted for McCain. But a whopping 60% of voters said that Palin was not qualified to be President, and 82% of those voters voted for Obama. The exit poll data shows the prescience of my statement from August 29th, the very day that her selection was announced. I wrote, “after the excitement over picking a woman dies down, this is going to seriously backfire.”

Comments

[SFG]

"People shamefully value their careers over informing the American public."
Well, gee, HS, then why don't you post all your musings under your real name?

Otherwise, of course, you're dead-on. 'Derangement Syndrome' is sort of a more extreme way of saying that people tend to minimize the faults of their allies and maximize the faults of their opponents. A lot of these truth distortions are pretty sound practices in real life (it's best not to dwell on how lazy or boring your best friend is, or to consider how your office rival is actually a sweet guy), but when it comes to discussing politics, yeah, it's just human nature.

[J]

"As I stated before, one’s intelligence has to be one standard deviation above the median in order to be able to graduate from law school and pass the bar exam. Yes, just about every single lawyer is in the top 16% of the population"

Repeating the same assertion over and over again does not make it true. Where is your data showing that virtually all lawyers have IQ's above 115? I don't believe it for a second.

[J]

According to Dick Morris who is the smartest political analyst of our time, Sarah Palin actually helped McCain among white women:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS2Gi1l--UY

Of course it may have been Hillary who helped McCain among white women, considering all the damage Hillary did to Obama in the primary.

[dearieme]

" If a man as unintelligent as Palin were nominated, we really would have seen some serious bashing." I think you meant "Republican man", though perhaps that was implicit.

[Steve Johnson]

As far as I can tell these are the biases operating in the Palin case:

1) "Story is known" bias (an instance of confirmation bias) - once the media decide on a story angle they will not deviate from it. Disconfirming evidence is thrown out. Confirming evidence is highlighted and reported. When the media engages in this successfully, it influences the public as most people don't follow things too closely and just try to form the same general idea as everyone else. Palin was dismissed by the media as a fool quite early and everything reported was then slanted in that direction.

2) "Tribal" bias - The media is driven out of New York / DC / Boston where there are two types of people: people who are from NY / DC / Boston and don't know anyone from "Jesusland" (and don't want to) and people who are from "Jesusland" and hated it there and want to prove to everyone that they're not like the rest of the fools from where they're from. Obama has less experience than Palin; she was governor for two years which involves sorta running (kinda) an organization, he was a senator for two years which involves making speeches and searching for a niche issue so you can collect money to push for certain legislation / stop certain legislation. Palin is a bit of a fool, Biden is a bit of a fool. The difference is that Obama and Biden are both part of the same tribe as the media so don't come in for criticism.

3) (HalfSigma only) Biden has done something that HS has done (pass the bar) so HS gives that greater weight. Personally, I have no idea how difficult it is to get elected mayor of a town of 6,000. You need to actually do something to get elected. If it's all about personal issues, you need to communicate to the voters (since your opponent will do the same). At the local mayor level the party isn't going to step in and take over your run (the parties (a) aren't that rich and (b) use something as a screening mechanism (the ability to win local elections at minimum)). At minimum I'd expect that you can't pull off the organization necessary without an IQ of about 110 or so. Comparing to Biden, I think you're out of your mind with the assertion that all lawyers who have passed the bar have an IQ of 115. From what I can tell through googling (which isn't a great research tool for this type of thing, but I'll take what I can get), doctors have an average IQ of 120. You're telling me that the floor for being a lawyer is that close to the average for being a doctor? If that were the case, the average lawyer would be much smarter than the average doctor and, in my experience, that's simply not the case.

The election's over. Palin was likely not too bright but is not likely to run again and win, is not likely to be nominated for VP again and is likely good enough at the job of governor of Alaska to not mess anything up that badly. She's also either on the same team as you politically (at least it's in her people's interest to limit immigration, unlike the other side). The logical move here is to simply drop the matter. You've given good arguments for your position now let the thing blow over.

[Vim]

1. Joe seems to know more about government and the types of things you are supposed to say about what types of newspapers you read.

2. Joe seems to be more adaptable in new situations. Sarah has a bird-dog outlook that says you have to do the first thing that comes to mind and push it as far as possible. It's definitely a type of intelligence but a robotic kind that often presents like being stupid.

3. Joe seems to be more pragmatic which again presents as being more intelligent.

4. Joe can manage more cohorent sentences.

5. Joe has more intellectual maturity. He seems more aware of what his ideas are, of the fact that they need to be self-consistent and how they fit into the context of ideas that other people have. (I think McCain is similar to Biden in having intellectual maturity.) Sarah seems to have a superficial relationship to ideas (they are what you say to get other people to vote or cheer for you). During the interviews there is a disturbing sense of a child trying to have the 'right' answer to the questions she was asked. One got the impression that she was stuck in a highschool mentality.

6. Joe is capable of more nuance both in his thinking and in expressing his thinking.

Palin could certainly be the more intelligent (while Joe has merely learned how to punch above his weight) but clearly, a lot of that potential she has is unrealized and at 43, it's unclear whether that will ever happen.

[QR]

She did harm the ticket. I was going to vote for McCain, but I was so disgusted with this neglectful mother whose older kids have run wild because their mother couldn't be bothered to look after them that I just couldn't.

[Turambar]

"I see that the real problem is Reverse Palin Derangement Syndrome. "

Yeah, thats the problem. Nothing to do with people who think Palin is secretly not pregnant, or that forged SAT records are false but accurate. Or a dozen other counterfactuals.

Just give it up already. You do this Palin nonsense because it drives blog traffic, while sensible bankruptcy posts get 20 comments. And you enjoy indulging you petty prejudices.

[InfoJ]

It's a standoff -- one potential VP's learning problem is geography, the other's is USA history (and political history at that).

[RottonPickle]

HS is right. The bottom line is that there are better candidates for the Republican nomination in 2012. That's what matters in the long-run.

It's not just about winning, it's about winning on the important issues. Crackdowns on illegal immigration, government contraction, fiscal conservatism.

[RottonPickle]

And, also as important, Constitutional conservatism.

[Nick]

Yeah, well Sailer's estimates about Kerry/Bush were based on facts, not idle speculation and unproven accusations.

Here are some facts, albeit not too tightly connected to the issue: Average ACT at U of Idaho is 23.3 (23 = 70th percentile). Graduation rate is only 52%. Thus, the average student at the U of Idaho is of well above average intelligence (surely higher than the 70th, since the standardized tests aren't taken by the truly hopeless) and half of them drop out, presumably mostly from the lower half. All of this suggests that Palin was at least slightly above average at the U of Idaho, thus at least a 110 IQ, most likely. I also note that 7% of the people at the U of Idaho got a 30 or higher on ACT, suggesting something like a 130 or higher IQ. The point is that graduating from an average university doesn't suggest you are average intelligence. Indeed, it suggests noticeably above average IQ, with an oustide shot at a very high one.

The big problem here is that these numbers are current, not for when Palin was there. We just keep sending more people to college, though, so there's an excellent chance the stats were better in her day.

I don't see much evidence that Palin is terribly intelligent, and I suspect she isn't smart enough to be president (no one is, frankly) but your 100 estimate is a joke.

[JewishAtheist]

Hate to break it to you, but "Bush derangement syndrome" is the same thing -- a lie conservatives tell themselves to explain away how they voted -- TWICE -- for one of the five worst presidents in the history of our country. Palin was just the next logical step after Bush -- more likeable and even less knowledgeable. The perfect figurehead for an intellectually bankrupt movement.

[anon]

Call me when there is a blog post here which is NOT about Sarah Palin.

[J1]

Much of the pushback here is not about Palin, but about your your assertions without supporting evidence (see J 0925) and your associated obsession with credentials.

[Christopher Tracy]

Admission standards at UIdaho were most likely lower during Palin's college days. I wouldn't rely on current stats to assess the difficulty of the college back then.

[Roger]

How is it that Palin is so stupid that she did not know that Africa was a continent, and yet she has never said anything that stupid in public? It seems much more likely that somebody distorted whatever she said about South Africa, either because of a misunderstanding or an attempt at scapegoating.

Meanwhile, HS is not addressing arguments that Biden is just as stupid as Palin. Biden has said many more stupid things than Palin has.

[Stopped Clock]

Huckabee thought the Canadian national parliament was housed in an igloo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bCyy7q_ylc

[Peter]

The only people who really care about the whole Palin IQ issue are pathologically introverted Beta loser nerds who spend 18 hours a day playing World of Warcraft in Mom's basement.

[razib]

"According to Dick Morris *who is the smartest political analyst* of our time, Sarah Palin actually helped McCain among white women:"

you just proved you're a stupid person by that retarded assertion ;-) lol.

A lot of men have a crush on Palin. They're in love with with her hot sassy Republican lady who hunts and has 5 kids with manly blue-collar hubby persona. As such, rational objections to Palin will have little effect and will be faced with stubborn denial.

[razib]

and i have come to enjoy these threads. it's a nice way to smoke out people who are easily unhinged and probably aren't bright, as there's a substantial overlap between my readership and this weblog. makes culling the 'tards much less time consuming.

palin might not have an IQ as low as 100. but overall, sigma's snap judgment has been more vindicated than not. just the facts dudes. (i myself thought sigma was really reaching at first, but hey, even if he got lucky a win is a win)

[PA]

["The only people who really care about the whole Palin IQ issue are pathologically introverted Beta loser nerds who spend 18 hours a day playing World of Warcraft in Mom's basement." --Peter]

Right on. Palin's qualifications are a legitimate topic of discussion, but framing it in IQ monomania stinks of nerd.

[Rain And]

I agree that Palin is tarded, but the claim she hurt the ticket is far from obvious.

McCain was ahead of Obama in the polls maybe once in over a year of polling before the election. The only temporary lead for McCain in the polls came with the Palin selection.

Then there was the September-October economic plunge which all but sealed the deal for Obama.

The evidence shows vice presidential selection plays almost no role in voter outcomes. The evidence shows that Palin did not help or hurt McCain, as is typical of vice presidential selection.

Far more damaging would have been the selection of Mitt Romney, since Americans feel a deep venomous hatred of Mormons, even though Mormons love America.

Kind of the reverse of blacks, who Americans love and elect to be president, even when they spend their whole life openly hating America.

Americans have American Derangement Syndrome.

[John Smith]

As a fellow HBD realist, I sympathize with you on Palin.

Just to add to that, her disastrous Turkey incident should be criticized for the stupidity that she showed.

No one wants to know where their meat comes from. Otherwise they'll be forced to acknowledge their moral deficits.

After all, if we can torture and kill animals because they are stupid and can't defend themselves, why can't white civilization do it to stupider Black people?

[Half Sigma]

"if we can torture and kill animals because they are stupid and can't defend themselves, why can't white civilization do it to stupider Black people?"

Ummm... because animals are animals and black people are human beings?

[Jack]

I believe the average IQ for doctors and lawyers has been estimated at about 125. Palin's IQ is higher than 100 but lower than Biden's. Biden, I believe, is a pretty smart guy, though kind of a hothead, and probably was not a great student. I see some of myself in him, especially when he says blunt things that get him in trouble.

And if you are looking directly at quality of the college, U Idaho (average SAT 1095) loses to U Delaware (average SAT 1190). From the estimator this makes the average U Idaho IQ 116 and the average U Delaware IQ 122. These figures seem rather high, possibly because some of these students at state schools transfer from community college and aren't getting in through their SAT scores.

[Underachiever]

John, you'll be sad to know that humans have also disenfranchised animals and stolen their lands. We are also pretty genocidal with certain plants. Don't worry though Switzerland is working to correct that. // Sarcasm off

I know where my meat comes from and I don't care. Now, if i were eating dolphin, elephant, an endangered species or a monkey, I might care about it because those are either intelligent creatures or have a chance of going extinct.

With the rest those, who cares? I would love for you to explain my "moral deficits" for eating chicken.

[Brick Oven Bill]

Palin Obsession Syndrome-Earnings, Type 1 (POSE-1)

Is a condition afflicting many degreed professionals, primarily those residing in Washington DC, Los Angeles, New York, and Western European Capitals. These subjects, who more often than not self-identify with educational and material achievement, become conflicted and confused when they come to the realization that some chick from Alaska makes more money than they do and was close to being the Vice President of the United States of America.

As a defense-mechanism, these subjects sometimes default to their perceived intellectual and educational achievements, and call Palin dumb. This defense mechanism is dangerous and should be discouraged, as it complicates the reconciliation of the differences in material successes, and can lead to Palin Obsession Syndrome-Earnings, Type II, which can involve snow machines and the risk of physical injury.

POSE-1 is best treated by giving the subject a lolli-pop, telling them that it is OK, and stressing that they live in an important city.

[jimmygatz]

@HS:
"Thus, one guy went on and on saying how dumb and unaccomplished I am. Hey, the post wasn’t about me, it was about Sarah."
I kept saying your IQ is only slightly above average and that with your academic history, you should be far more accomplished. Am I wrong? Oh, and you're right, the post was about Sarah, but my comment was about you and had nothing to do with Sarah. Cognitive dissonance is a convenient little rhetorical device when you want to explain away your critics.

@John Smith:
"After all, if we can torture and kill animals because they are stupid and can't defend themselves, why can't white civilization do it to stupider Black people?"
This is exactly why the hbd movement is confined to those of us who live in fantasy land.

[Underachiever]

Guys maybe Half is going off on Palin because he is jealous. Maybe because it drives up hits.

Or maybe he is doing it because the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee probably wasn't even in the 90th percentile of IQ. There is no excuse for this; Republicans can and must do better.

Now, maybe we should discuss something useful such as how can we make our HBD ideas politically relevant? Any thoughts guys?

[Dark Meat]

"After all, if we can torture and kill animals because they are stupid and can't defend themselves, why can't white civilization do it to stupider Black people?"

I though we did that to animals because we eat them. Which leads me to the next question: Do black people taste good?

[Steve Sailer]

I didn't write that Sarah Palin is smart or not smart. What I actually wrote was:

"I would assume that Sarah Palin is about as smart as her erstwhile opponent, Vice President-Elect Joe Biden, a man who has gone through life with a giant chip on his shoulder about his IQ. Whether that's smart enough to be President, I'll leave up to you."

Now, I'm not sure how to break this news to you, but, despite getting virtually no publicity for the last three months, Joe Biden is going to become Vice President of the United States of America on January 20. Sarah Palin is not.

Further, there is a lot of amusing evidence that Biden, as I said back in August, "is kind of a bozo."

But who cares about the man who will be a heartbeat from the Presidency, when we can talk about the governor of Alaska, who obviously is far, far more important?

[zuwr]

Let's push the speculation about Palin in another direction. I speculate that on the Myers-Briggs test, Palin would be Extrovert, Sensing, Feeling, Judging (ESFJ). Moreover, she would be at least 2 sd extrovert.

[agnostic]

"They're in love with with her hot sassy Republican lady who hunts and has 5 kids with manly blue-collar hubby persona."

She's not hot. Bangable, but not hot. She has a man-jaw. Was pretty in her beauty pageant days, though.

Just goes to show how far the feminine ideal has disappeared from the culture -- even "traditionalists" go ga-ga over some sassy huntress with a masculine jaw, rather than a ladylike nurse or pianist whose face looks like that of a girl.

[whiskey]

Biden is not particularly smart and had an aneurysm, not well reported, but there it is.

Palin generates a lot of hate because she's a blue collar woman, moreover one who made it on her own without a powerful husband and/or father like Pelosi, Clinton, Feinstein, Boxer, etc.

Palin certainly DID know Africa was a continent, as a member of her church she would be intimately aware of the crisis in the Sudan and the evangelical attempt to buy slaves freedom. Evangelicals care more about Africa than any other group and spend considerable time and money in both good works and conversions. African Christians are NOT like European ones, they resemble a mixture of Cotton Mather and the early Popes more than the soft, "post-Christian" types such as the current Archbishop of Canterbury or the gay-marriage aficionados of the US Episcopal Church.

Not only can any evangelical tell you about his/her Church's efforts to buy the freedom of Sudanese slaves, they can tell you their programs to support Nigerian, or Kenyan, or Ivorian Christians against Muslim depredations and oppression.

The story was quite frankly, bunk.

The reason people hate Palin, a competent and capable governor who unseated the power brokers of her own and rival party, is her class and her region.

She gets the SAME treatment that Jackson and Lincoln got -- because she is a threat from the Mountain West, and has populist appeal. Idiot yuppies get into a tizzy over "the Turkey Holocaust" and meanwhile, her Mountain West supporters love her more.

Really, read back the stuff the Eastern establishment press said about Lincoln and Jackson, it's almost word-for-word what they say about Palin. "Stupid." "Uncouth." "Any smart person would have gone to Harvard or Yale." "Backwoods bumpkin."

It takes savvy to unseat a sitting governor, with no connections and no money and no big important backers. That seems smart enough for me. Meanwhile, supposed genius Adlai Stevenson flunked out of Columbia and didn't read a book from one year to the next.

[Spungen]

Nick wrote: "Here are some facts, albeit not too tightly connected to the issue: Average ACT at U of Idaho is 23.3 (23 = 70th percentile). Graduation rate is only 52%. Thus, the average student at the U of Idaho is of well above average intelligence (surely higher than the 70th, since the standardized tests aren't taken by the truly hopeless) and half of them drop out, presumably mostly from the lower half.... I also note that 7% of the people at the U of Idaho got a 30 or higher on ACT, suggesting something like a 130 or higher IQ. The point is that graduating from an average university doesn't suggest you are average intelligence. Indeed, it suggests noticeably above average IQ, with an oustide shot at a very high one."

HS, I'd be interested in your views re the assertion that graduating from an average university suggests "noticeably above average IQ." For one thing, used to be transfer students from CCs didn't take SAT/ACT. Don't know if it's changed.

And don't listen to Peter's nerd taunts; I suspect you spend less time on the Internet than he does.

[Jack]

Spungen, the SAT-IQ estimator would put the average SAT-taking Idaho student at a pretty respectable 116. However, I'm pretty sure transfers don't take the SAT, which might lower the average IQ at the school. 116 seems high for a mediocre state school. I also estimate U Delaware, Biden's alma mater, as 122.

Of course, I don't really know if that estimator is accurate...

[d]

"She's not hot. Bangable, but not hot."

If a large number of men find someone hot, and they obviously do w/ respect to Palin, she's hot. That's all you need to rate as hot.

And as far as the disappearance of the feminine ideal goes - the appeal to men of a woman with masculine pursuits (even her elevation as an admirable exception to her sex) is hardly new. Henry Higgins was hardly the first one to wistfully ask, "Why can't a woman be more like a man?"

[Lucas]

The point is: there is no evidence that she is more stupid than Biden or the Senate's average.

And the fact remain that she makes the losers in the sexual scene (nerds, ugly feminists, 30+ single women) go nuts.

[The Undiscovered Jew]

Give the woman a break when it comes to looks.

She used to be very pretty, but now that she is in her 40's and has had 5 kids she only looks above average. All things considered, her looks have held up reasonably well. You can't expect a 40+ year old mom to be as hot as a 21 year old college football cheerleader.

[Her?]

Palin didn't go straight to the university Idaho, she was a transfer, coming from doing two semesters at an Idaho community college. It is a pretty standard practice for people who can't get into a state school to go to try doing some community college and then transfer in. We can't say for sure this exactly was Palin's circumstance, it might have been financial, but it's no less plausible this was the issue.

The first school she got admitted to and attended was Hawaii Pacific, here is the less than impressive standardized test profile for their current student body

http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=3477&profileId=6

Middle 50% of
First-Year Students Percent Who
Submitted Scores
SAT Critical Reading: 430 - 550 75%
SAT Math: 420 - 530 75%
SAT Writing: 420 - 530 75%
ACT Composite: 18 - 24 28%

Considering it was only established in 1965 it could likely have been even less selective when Palin was attending in the 80s.

[AS]

Steve Sailer:

Palin is very important because lots of Republicans want her to run for president in 2012. Even if she doesn't win the nomination, she could be a spoiler.

No doubt, at that time, you'll say, "People have no objection to that bozo idiot windbag Biden being a heartbeat away from the presidency. Palin is about as smart as Biden. Therefore, it's okay for Palin to try to win the Republican nomination. By the way, did I mention that Biden is a bozo and an idiot and a windbag?"

Also, what does it say about our country that a woman as unintelligent as Palin was the vice presidential candidate? That's an important topic of discussion.

Palin may be stupid. But all these other assholes(in both gov't and business) who went to top schools have done a fine job of fucking everything up. Like it matters anyway...While I consider the converation on whether Palin is dumb, or Biden an idiot, if Obama is a genius, etc... fun and interesting, it is tantamount to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic to debate this kind of shit. Everybody had better fuck around, goof of, get loaded/high, get laid, spend money on dumb stuff and party or whatever because all that fun shit is coming to an end. You had better fucking believe it.

"Give the woman a break when it comes to looks."

I think the people driving the market for the "Proud to be voting for the hot chick" buttons, drooling about her all over the web, and creating all these dumb VPILF-type websites have more than given the woman a break; they've crossed over into full on teeny-bopperdom.

[agnostic]

Exactly. If it was, "She's aged pretty well," etc., sure. But the way people slobber over her -- let's get real.

[gp]

"The reason people hate Palin, a competent and capable governor who unseated the power brokers of her own and rival party, is her class and her region."

Really whiskey? You can't conceive on any reason not based on class/regional prejudice why people might oppose her or why her candidacy might give people pause? You will not allow that anyone might have entirely legitimate and reasonable arguments for not wanting her to be VP or president - no, they are all acting out of irrational class hatred?

[Her?]

Steve Sailer's comment here suggesting that we should now focus on Biden because he is of relevance strikes me as rather disingenuous. The entire time it was relevant to discuss whether Palin's level of intelligence might have something to do with her poor performance as VP, he was totally silent.

[Tanked]

"Steve Sailer's comment here suggesting that we should now focus on Biden because he is of relevance strikes me as rather disingenuous."

Who's Biden?

Our highly intelligent elites at work:

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/JK25Dj06.html

[John Smith]

"Ummm... because animals are animals and black people are human beings?"

If you're religious than differences between species matter.

If you're rational, then the fact that something is human shouldn't diminish the fact that it is less intelligent. If a being is a lesser intelligence (such as an animal) it has lesser rights in our society. Why can't we apply that reasoning to people? Because they're people? That argument doesn't hold water with me.

So I don't fit into the neat quazi-religious liberal category that's thrown on most vegetarians. To me, racial differences in intelligence make vegetarianism the only morally tenable position in light of our society's condemnation of slavery and being an atheist.

[Mill]

"Everybody had better fuck around, goof of, get loaded/high, get laid, spend money on dumb stuff and party or whatever because all that fun shit is coming to an end. You had better fucking believe it."

Do you know something I don't?

[Richard H]

"If you're rational, then the fact that something is human shouldn't diminish the fact that it is less intelligent. If a being is a lesser intelligence (such as an animal) it has lesser rights in our society. Why can't we apply that reasoning to people? Because they're people? That argument doesn't hold water with me.

So I don't fit into the neat quazi-religious liberal category that's thrown on most vegetarians. To me, racial differences in intelligence make vegetarianism the only morally tenable position in light of our society's condemnation of slavery and being an atheist.
"

You're deep. Before I became a firm believer in eugenics, I tried to be a vegan. I wanted to reduce suffering in the world, but didn't have the stomach for being in favor of doing away with those with inferior genes. Now, I don't know.

For an atheist, the distinction between those we call "humans" and other sentient beings that feel doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.

"Do you know something I don't?"

Mill, take a look around. The wheels are coming off the bus. I can smell the fear in the air on Wall Street and in DC. Nothing that is being done can stop the bleeding that will result in economic collapse. Then watch out. So like I said, go and enjoy things while you can...

[Her?]

"Who's Biden?"

He was the guy who used to viewed as "kind of a bozo," and then after standing next to Sarah Palin for a while he was suddenly seen as "presidential." Ah, another master stroke of the McCain campaign.