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97 Percent of All Liberal Claims Are Wrong
Powerline ^ | Dec. 22, 2014 | Steven Hayward

Posted on 12/22/2014 9:50:58 AM PST by 6ft2inhighheelshoes

And I’m not so sure about the other 3 percent, either. It is amazing to behold how liberals will grab hold of the flimsiest statistic so long as it bolsters The Narrative, no matter how easily and convincingly the figure is debunked. These days, the favorite liberal numbers are 1 in 5, 97 percent, and 77 percent.

If you keep up, you’ll recognize them immediately, of course: 1 in 5 women are raped in college; 97 percent of all scientists agree about human-caused climate doom, and women only earn 77 cents on the dollar compared to men’s earnings.

John has already noted how the “1 in 5” rape claim has been debunked by the Obama Justice Department (the real number is six tenths of one percent). Anthony Watts dispatches the “97 percent” canard with a list of 97 articles (including one of ours) debunking this go-to climatista chant. And the 77 cents on the dollar theme has been debunked so many times that one hardly knows where to start (though here’s Hannah Rosin at Slate, and Mark Perry and Andrew Biggs in the Wall Street Journal). Though I always like to point out that if it was literally true that you could pay a woman 23 percent less than a man for the same job, employers would rush to hire women because of the immediate boost to the profit margin it would confer. Employers must really be stupid to be overlooking this easy opportunity! But then liberals are usually as challenged by economic logic as they are by serious treatment of statistics.

This kind of liberal credulity has a long history, and who can forget this syndicated column from 1993:

IF YOU watch NBC’s Super Bowl broadcast closely, amid the clutter of ads hawking Gillette razors, Nike sneakers and the like, you’ll see one that isn’t selling anything.

It’s a public-service spot, with a simple message, aimed at men: Beating your wife or girlfriend is a crime.

The ad should offer some solace to those who run shelters for battered women. Assuming they’re not too busy to see it. Super Bowl Sunday is, after all, their worst day of the year.

For too many households, the violence of football’s most-watched game spills from the gridiron into the home. The Super Bowl brings together many activities that can “trigger” a man predisposed to battering: intense viewing of sanctioned violence, heavy drinking, betting.

Women’s shelters report big increases in calls for help on Super Bowl day. This year, some shelters may double their staff to prepare for the influx.

Some “women’s advocacy organizations” went as far as to recommend that women absent themselves from watching the Super Bowl with their husbands because they were unsafe.

Only problem was—it wasn’t even remotely true:

The claim at a Pasadena, Calif., press conference ahead of the 1993 Super Bowl was backed by groups such as the California Women’s Law Center and Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, setting off a raftof fearful news headlines and airtime on Good Morning America.

It wasn’t until a Washington Post reporter interviewed experts about the claim that the truth emerged: The claim was bogus. Even the Old Dominion University researchers whose work was cited as support for the connection said it was wrong. [Snopes.com has a good roundup on this debacle as well.]

But guess what? Liberals are still repeating this canard, in 2014, as caught by the Politifact folks:

Mika copy

Way to go Mika; that’s really keeping up with things.


TOPICS: Government; Politics; Society
KEYWORDS: liberal; liberals; liberalslie; lies; propaganda; statistics
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They can't handle the truth.
1 posted on 12/22/2014 9:50:58 AM PST by 6ft2inhighheelshoes
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To: 6ft2inhighheelshoes

Yeah they just make sh*t up.


2 posted on 12/22/2014 9:54:25 AM PST by Maelstorm (Big Media is the biggest Corporate Political Interest.)
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To: 6ft2inhighheelshoes

Hey, my guess was only 3 percent off.


3 posted on 12/22/2014 9:55:02 AM PST by Carl Vehse
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To: 6ft2inhighheelshoes

Rule Number One: A Leftist will ALWAYS lie.

It is their default condition, their factory setting, it’s almost genetic.


4 posted on 12/22/2014 9:55:12 AM PST by Old Sarge (Its the Sixties all over again, but with crappy music...)
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To: 6ft2inhighheelshoes

Sounds like a deliberate attempt to harm the self esteem of these proud liberal groups, might even qualify as a hate crime or a crime against women in general. And for what? Truth!


5 posted on 12/22/2014 9:57:46 AM PST by eyeamok
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To: Carl Vehse

Yeah, but that 97% is 100% wrong about being right.


6 posted on 12/22/2014 10:00:48 AM PST by rktman (Served in the Navy to protect the rights of those that want to take some of mine away. Odd, eh?)
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To: Maelstorm

“fake ,but accurate”

IOW, lie if it advances the narrative.


7 posted on 12/22/2014 10:00:53 AM PST by TurboZamboni (Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.-JFK)
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To: 6ft2inhighheelshoes
Of course it's wrong; a brain is a pre-requisite for rational thought.
8 posted on 12/22/2014 10:02:51 AM PST by Renkluaf
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To: 6ft2inhighheelshoes

Global warming and homosexuality cannot be scientifically proven yet we are called ignorant for stating that. Fetal pain and socialism’s failure can be scientifically proven yet we are called ignorant for stating that. Libs are a one trick ponies.


9 posted on 12/22/2014 10:08:14 AM PST by goodwithagun (My gun has killed fewer people than Ted Kennedy's car.)
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To: 6ft2inhighheelshoes

They definitely try to stay as close to 100% as humanly possible, just to try to stay consistent.


10 posted on 12/22/2014 10:08:59 AM PST by samtheman
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To: Old Sarge

“Rule Number One: A Leftist will ALWAYS lie”.
Rule number two : Refer to rule number one.


11 posted on 12/22/2014 10:09:00 AM PST by certrtwngnut (The middle east is where the enemy of my enemy is my enemy!)
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To: 6ft2inhighheelshoes
Fun with lefty statistics...

12 posted on 12/22/2014 10:27:37 AM PST by Organic Panic
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To: 6ft2inhighheelshoes

97% of all Liberals are pathological liars

while

3% of all Liberals are just habitual Liars


13 posted on 12/22/2014 10:29:45 AM PST by qam1 (There's been a huge party. All plates and the bottles are empty, all that's left is the bill to pay)
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To: qam1
97% of all Liberals are pathological liars while 3% of all Liberals are just habitual Liars

and their leader is a 'Natural Born' Liar.

14 posted on 12/22/2014 10:41:39 AM PST by chopperman
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To: Organic Panic
Hey 99%er. If you're so dumb that it took you ten years to figure out you weren't going anywhere in your dead-end job, trust me, you won't go anywhere in a new job either.

It ain't the job, honey. It's you.

15 posted on 12/22/2014 10:45:42 AM PST by HotHunt
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To: 6ft2inhighheelshoes

To a progressive, a fact is a weapon. It doesn’t matter if the fact is true or false, or even so false it literally cannot be reasonably believed - if it supports the message of the narrative for today, it’s useful and will be used by the proponents of the narrative.

If tomorrow someone points out that its totally false, who cares? The fact was useful to move the ball forward, and any attempt to point out that it was a complete crock is irrelevant in light of today’s facts that are supporting today’s story about the narrative. The old facts are now only a distraction, and attempts to discuss them is just an attempt to avoid talking about what’s REALLY important, don’t ya know?


16 posted on 12/22/2014 10:54:15 AM PST by kevkrom (I'm not an unreasonable man... well, actually, I am. But hear me out anyway.)
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To: Organic Panic

I wonder if she has done ANYTHING in those 10 years to make herself more valuable to the company. I am willing to bet she have done nothing to improve her work skills in those 10 years.

I work in technology. The general consensus is my knowledge today has a half-life of 5 years. Meaning, that half of the knowledge I use today to do my job will be obsolete in 5 years. If I am not working to replace that with skills that are more relevant in the future, I am worth less to my employer each year.


17 posted on 12/22/2014 11:28:10 AM PST by 5thGenTexan
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...

Two words — man spreading.


18 posted on 12/22/2014 11:40:53 AM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/ _____________________ Celebrate the Polls, Ignore the Trolls)
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To: 6ft2inhighheelshoes

97%? Try 99.999999999999999999999999999999999999999%.


19 posted on 12/22/2014 11:41:20 AM PST by Politicalkiddo ("How many observe Christ's birthday! How few, His precepts!" - Benjamin Franklin)
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To: Old Sarge
Rule Number One: A Leftist will ALWAYS lie.

That is grossly unfair!

Lying can be fixed.
Total ignorance and stupidity cannot.

They can no more fix it than they can fix their race or sex.

20 posted on 12/22/2014 11:47:27 AM PST by publius911 (Formerly Publius6961)
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