Willful Suspension of Disbelief

What is wrong with us these days? It seems like we are so desperate to believe that is all is well with the world that we will believe anything anyone says even when it is in direct conflict with obvious reality and, well, something they've said. Whether they actually "mean it" mean it is irrelevant. My point is that we are all-too willing to let liars, lunatics and laggards dictate truth, rather than demanding it in its true form. If we are too lazy or too apathetic or too scared to demand that people be accountable for their exhortations, then I don't know that there is any hope for us as a democratic nation.

Katherine Harris.
Statement:
Separation of church and state is "a lie we have been told." Separating religion and politics is "wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers...If you're not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin."

Follow up "clarification":
Harris' campaign released a statement Saturday saying she had been "speaking to a Christian audience, addressing a common misperception that people of faith should not be actively involved in government." The comments reflected "her deep grounding in Judeo-Christian values," the statement said, adding that Harris had previously supported pro-Israel legislation and legislation recognizing the Holocaust.

Haggis thoughts: An obvious attempt to have it both ways; to be all God Squad to one audience while being all "freedom of religion" with another. Love how they throw the Judeo- stuff in there, as if Harris' offense was toward Jews, rather than toward the Constitution of the United States of America. And, my personal annoyance, when someone claims their non-bigoted bona fides by assuring you that they would not have supported the Holocaust. Duh.

Mel Gibson.
Statement:
"You mother f****r. I'm going to f*** you." The report also says "Gibson almost continually threatened me saying he 'owns Malibu' and will spend all of his money to 'get even' with me." The report says Gibson then launched into a barrage of anti-Semitic statements: "F*****g Jews... The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." Gibson then asked the deputy, "Are you a Jew?"

Follow up "clarification":
"I drove a car when I should not have, and was stopped by the LA County Sheriffs. The arresting officer was just doing his job and I feel fortunate that I was apprehended before I caused injury to any other person. I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested, and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable. I am deeply ashamed of everything I said."

Haggis thoughts: Apology, good. Refusal to attend rehab as promised in said apology. Not good. Continued belief that The Passion did not come from a "Christ killer" state of mind? Delusional. As they say: In vino veritas?

Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Statement:
"The establishment of the Zionist regime was a move by the world oppressor against the Islamic world," the president told a conference in Tehran on Wednesday, entitled The World without Zionism. "The skirmishes in the occupied land are part of a war of destiny. The outcome of hundreds of years of war will be defined in Palestinian land." "As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map," referring to Iran's revolutionary leader Ayat Allah Khomeini.

Follow up "clarification":
At a later news conference on January 14, 2006, Ahmadinejad claimed his speech had been exaggerated and misinterpreted. "There is no new policy, they created a lot of hue and cry over that. It is clear what we say: Let the Palestinians participate in free elections and they will say what they want." What is also notable is that flurries of Western academics swooped in to say that he didn't say it, since no such idiom exists in Persian. They parsed his words to make it say "erased from the pages of history," which CLEARLY means something entirely different of course. All of their efforts are hindered by the translation on the Iranian government's own website which clearly states: "wiped off the map." www.president.ir/eng/

Another notable Westerner carrying water for His Excellency is none other than Mike Wallace who said after interviewing him, "Yes, he says wipe off the map, and of course I asked him over and over about that. He says in effect, hey, it's perfectly sensible to do … pardon me. It's perfectly sensible for them … it's perfectly sensible, if there is a Holocaust, and let's buy the fact that there was a Holocaust. Where did the Holocaust take place? Did it take place in an Arab neighborhood? Did it take place in Jerusalem? No. It took place in Germany. Then it seems to me, under those circumstances, take Israel, the Zionist entity, he called it, move it to Germany. Move it to Europe. That's where it happened." Wallace said Ahmadinejad doesn't like the United States because it is supporting Israel, however, he is not anti-Semitic.

Haggis thoughts: Just because the truth ain't pretty and is, in fact, kinda scary, doesn't mean you ought to ignore it or "translate" or "interpret" it away. He's on record; he wants a world where Islam is the rule of law for all nations. That means you too, anti-Zionists, anti-Semites, Bush-haters, Clinton-haters, Deaniacs, Katherine Harris voters, and apolitical people of all stripes. You won't get points from Ahmadinejad for agreeing with him, ignoring him, or pretending he didn't exist back in 2006.

And, Mike Wallace, you self-important, out-of-retirement-for-this-interview ego-m**turbator: Your doctor just called; your anti-hallucinatory meds have arrived.

Honorable mentions:
--Mayor Ray "New York's Hole in the Ground/Ooops I Mean Undeveloped Site" Nagin
--Ashlee "Girls Should Be Proud of Who They Are/Do You Like My New Nose and Boobs?!" Simpson
--And, of course, President George "Too Many of These Things to Mention" Bush

Anyone I've missed?