Things everybody knows that are actually wrong

[Smash255]

They were savages intent on mass murder of white settlers so we defended ourselves.

Bullshit.  They weren't savages, first of all.  Second of all, we came in and took their land; they were the ones defending themselves.  Finally, we're the ones who committed mass murder, not the Indians.

Another product of a government education. Great. 

First, it is true some bad things were done to the indians on ocassion. The worst had to be what the Spanish explorers allowed to happen but they were just so shocked by the human sacrifice and mass butchery of the Aztecs and Incas they over reactions.

 But second, countless times the indians murdered white women and children.  I am talking about in north america like the Pilgrim times and the French and Indian war.  We had every right to settle here and yes, some times land was wrongly stolen.  But lots of these indians were nomads who left their land for long periods.  Others were just stagnating and not developing.  Progress is a good thing not a bad thing.  Liberals want you to believe it is bad but white Europeans brougth progress to America.

And now the indians are on the welfare dole AND raking in the bucks with their casino gambling.  Favored minority status...hmmm...who really came out on top?

As someone with a major in History, this makes me cringe.

[Nym90]

That the "free market" actually leads to more economic freedom.

Please stay off politics

I could also add the notion that only government, as opposed to corporations or individuals, can restrict freedom. Hence the logic behind my above statement.

[dead0man]

Who thinks corporations or individuals can't restrict freedom?  I think maybe you should take ilikeverin's advice.

[MaxQue]

Who thinks corporations or individuals can't restrict freedom?  I think maybe you should take ilikeverin's advice.

Not me. *cough*Monsanto*cough*

[Nym90]

Who thinks corporations or individuals can't restrict freedom?  I think maybe you should take ilikeverin's advice.

Well, ok, I was exaggerating. But politically, there does seem to be a strong notion that maximum freedom and liberty comes from a minimum of government intervention in the economy, which I feel is quite incorrect.

[dead0man]

You can have maximum freedom and liberty with a lot of govt intervention? 

Of course it's not a black and white issue (less govt intervention=more freedom is clearly not universally true), but generally speaking, the fewer the rules, the more freedom an entity has.

[MaxQue]

You can have maximum freedom and liberty with a lot of govt intervention? 

Of course it's not a black and white issue (less govt intervention=more freedom is clearly not universally true), but generally speaking, the fewer the rules, the more freedom an entity has.

Don't confuse the freedom of a person and the freedom of an entity. The first one is more important.

[dead0man]

Well sure, but an entity includes people and groups of people.  The people half is more important than the "groups of people" half, but the "groups of people" half is still important enough to warrant a mention.

[GMantis]

They were savages intent on mass murder of white settlers so we defended ourselves.

Bullshit.  They weren't savages, first of all.  Second of all, we came in and took their land; they were the ones defending themselves.  Finally, we're the ones who committed mass murder, not the Indians.

Another product of a government education. Great. 

First, it is true some bad things were done to the indians on ocassion. The worst had to be what the Spanish explorers allowed to happen but they were just so shocked by the human sacrifice and mass butchery of the Aztecs and Incas they over reactions.

 But second, countless times the indians murdered white women and children.  I am talking about in north america like the Pilgrim times and the French and Indian war.  We had every right to settle here and yes, some times land was wrongly stolen.  But lots of these indians were nomads who left their land for long periods.  Others were just stagnating and not developing.  Progress is a good thing not a bad thing.  Liberals want you to believe it is bad but white Europeans brougth progress to America.

And now the indians are on the welfare dole AND raking in the bucks with their casino gambling.  Favored minority status...hmmm...who really came out on top?

Who exactly gave you a right to settle on other people's lands? And am I to understand that you support murder and expulsion in the name of progress?
And the final sentence is so obscene that I'm not certain you meant it seriously. Do you know the general living standarts of Indians or how they were driven out of the best terrirory and driven in reservations?
Liberal education is bad, but no education is even worse.

[they don't love you like i love you]

One could easily disprove Coburn simply by posting demographic statistics of towns on Reservations. However he's not even a real poster anyway so why bother?

[Nym90]

You can have maximum freedom and liberty with a lot of govt intervention? 

Of course it's not a black and white issue (less govt intervention=more freedom is clearly not universally true), but generally speaking, the fewer the rules, the more freedom an entity has.

Well no, of course in a lot of areas government involvement does reduce freedom, but when a lack of government involvement results in, say, a society with greater income disparities and greater poverty, it reduces the economic freedom of the vast majority of the people. And obviously the police and the military give us the freedom to not be killed, which is pretty much the most important one of all.

And yeah I realize that since some (many?) people agree with me on this, it isn't something that really fits the title of this thread. Consider this act as close as I come to outright rebellion.

But it does seem to be a fairly universally accepted concept in high school government classes for example, which simplify politics by saying that the position of the Right on economics is in favor of greater economic freedom (usually in contrast to the Left supporting greater equality or some such).

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Freedom is something related to government intervention.

Now this isn't wrong so much as not the whole story, actually there are greater threats to freedom than the government. This obsession with government size is a purely American fabrication; probably something to do with the abscene of European Class-based politics (no, race-based politics isn't quite the same thing, though similiar obviously).

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

     That Marie Antoinette said "let them eat cake."

True. She said: "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche"

[ilikeverin]

Who thinks corporations or individuals can't restrict freedom?  I think maybe you should take ilikeverin's advice.

Oh, I never said I disagreed with him; I'm just saying that this thread should stay away from politically-based points, so as to not engender the kind of debate you two are having.  That isn't the point of this thread.

[12th Doctor]

Winston Churchill once said:

"The only statistics I trust are the ones I doctored myself."

Churchill never said this, often repeated, quotation... even in jest.

The original quote is actually:

Ich glaube nur der Statistik, die ich selbst gefälscht habe.

And as you can guess from that, it was utter Nazi propaganda, that was actually picked up upon by the Labour Party and Left-wing intellectuals and used by them against Churchill in later years.

[Vepres]

Public schools in the US are failing.
Wrong! Independent studies consistently rank us in the top 5 of the world, behind only socialist states with extremely high tax rates. Also, how could or public schools be the worst when we have the 2nd (maybe it was 3rd) highest per captia college graduation year after year.

[minionofmidas]

Winston Churchill once said:

"The only statistics I trust are the ones I doctored myself."

Churchill never said this, often repeated, quotation... even in jest.

The original quote is actually:

Ich glaube nur der Statistik, die ich selbst gefälscht habe.

And as you can guess from that, it was utter Nazi propaganda, that was actually picked up upon by the Labour Party and Left-wing intellectuals and used by them against Churchill in later years.

I've seen it attributed to numerous different people - Bismarck, Churchill, Adenauer being the standard choices (I sense a common theme here - no, not "Conservative" - "Powerful old man with a reputation for shrewdness".) No idea about the ultimate origin.

There's also the variant where a politician is accused of "using statistics like a drunk uses a lamppost - not to shed light on something but just to cling to."

[King]

Drunk people type in all caps with a lot of exclamation points when using the internet.

[Countess Anya of the North Parish]

the one i find rather funny is how people think that the monkey has the closest speech gene to us.

[Lunar]

Drunk people type in all caps with a lot of exclamation points when using the internet.

I thing they more often mispell words or use incorrec tones

[they don't love you like i love you]

Here's some I realized reading TV Tropes:

Most people today seem to think the original Planet of the Apes was a cheesy B-movie known only for its camp value, probably due to the title which is similar to many MST3K movies. In fact it was a critically well-received film with a respectable budget for its time.

Most people also don't realize the original Godzilla movies were also pretty dark and as ridiculous as the special effects look today, they were standard for the time. We aren't talking about a Japanese Plan 9 From Outer Space.

Also Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" is NOT a patriotic song.

[paul718]

That baseball was invented by Abner Doubleday, famed U.S. General in the Civil War, in Cooperstown, New York.   

This was a marketing ploy thought up by sporting goods manufacturer Albert Spalding, with the intention of selling baseball as a uniquely "American" game.  In reality, baseball descended from stoolball, an English game dating back to the 15th century.  Also descended from this game are baseball's cousins: rounders, cricket, and bat-and-trap.

There is no evidence that Abner Doubleday ever played baseball, or that he was even in Cooperstown at the time of his alleged fouding of the game.  There is written evidence of "base ball" in English literature dating back to the 18th century.

[they don't love you like i love you]

Also Babe Ruth's "called shot". It's basically a media creation, an exageration of something to make a story, like the Dean Scream. Then also that the Baby Ruth candybar is named after him.

[paul718]

Also Babe Ruth's "called shot". It's basically a media creation, an exageration of something to make a story, like the Dean Scream. Then also that the Baby Ruth candybar is named after him.

I addressed Ruth's "Called Shot" on page 2 of this thread. 

Babe Ruth's "called shot". 

Ruth was trash-talking with the Chicago Cubs' dugout during his at-bat, and at one pont made a hand gesture while making a remark.  A local Chicago sportswriter believed he saw, from his angle, Ruth pointing toward the center field bleachers.  A few pitches later, Ruth hit a home run to center, and a legend was born. 

In the ensuing years, however, primitive footage recorded by fans that day have revealed that Ruth never really "called his shot".

[they don't love you like i love you]

Ah.

Well here's another one: "You forgot Poland". Never said in the debate. It's another "Luke, I am your father" and "Beam me up Scotty"