_Iron Chef USA_ is an Unholy Abomination Straight from the Deepest Pit of Hell

If memory serves me correctly, I fortunately missed this dreck when it originally aired on UPN. Sadly, this weekend (July 19-20, 2003), the Food Network aired it in place of the real Iron Chef. Out of morbid curiosity, I subjected myself to the horror, known as Iron Chef USA.

Honestly, I really can’t put my finger on why it turned out so bad. It’s like they copied the formula for the real Iron Chef, but still managed to get it all wrong.

People are Stupid, Part II

Here’s some disturbing polling data from Program on International Policy Attitudes:

Among those who approved of the decision to go to war and were not just supporting the president (53% of the sample), a majority of 52% said the US has found weapons of mass destruction (48%) or did not know (4%).

Among Republicans who said they follow international affairs very closely — and thus may also be more exposed to headlines reporting promising leads — an even larger percentage — 55% –said weapons have been found, with just 45% saying they have not.

Another widespread misperception is that Iraq actually used chemical or biological weapons in the war. Twenty-two percent held this misperception, with 9% being unsure, while 69% correctly said that Iraq had not used such weapons. However, unlike the question of whether weapons have been found, there is no greater tendency to hold this belief among those who support the war, or are Republicans who follow international affairs closely, than there is in the general population.

The above, combined with this, leads one to believe there are a lot people just not paying attention.

THE MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY COLORING BOOK

Here’s a good one from: APS – What’s New by Bob Park – May 23, 2003.

2. PUBLIC SUPPORT: THE MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY COLORING BOOK.

This year’s celebration of Public Service Recognition Week, we confess, slipped by without our notice. It is celebrated each year during the first week of May to honor government employees. We were reminded of our negligence this week when we received a copy of the Missile Defense Agency Coloring Book, prepared just for the occasion. The first page is President Ronald Reagan; it continues with an Aegis missile being launched from a ship, and an airborne laser zapping an enemy missile just after launch. You can’t recruit your supporters too young. The coloring book came complete with crayons, which were identified as “made in China.”

Oh the irony…
View the book here.

People are Stupid

Here’s some disturbing polling data from PollingReport.com (via Eschaton)

“As far as you know, how many of the September 11th terrorist hijackers were Iraqi citizens: most of them, some of them, just one, or none?”

Most of them 21%
Some of them 23%
Just one  6%
None 17%
Don’t know 33%

(Knight Ridder poll conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates. Jan. 3-6, 2003. N=1,204 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.)

According to this poll, about half of those surveyed believed at least one of the hijackers was Iraqi and about one in five believe most of the hijackers were Iraqi.

Most of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia and none are known to be from Iraq.