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Via Yahoo, from LiveScience d0t com:

Stephanie Pappas / Yahoo! News:
Low IQ & Conservative Beliefs Linked to Prejudice

The research finds that children with low intelligence are more likely to hold prejudiced attitudes as adults. These findings point to a vicious cycle, according to lead researcher Gordon Hodson, a psychologist at Brock University in Ontario. Low-intelligence adults tend to gravitate toward socially conservative ideologies, the study found. Those ideologies, in turn, stress hierarchy and resistance to change, attitudes that can contribute to prejudice, Hodson wrote in an email to LiveScience.

“Prejudice is extremely complex and multifaceted, making it critical that any factors contributing to bias are uncovered and understood,” he said.

Controversy ahead

The findings combine three hot-button topics.

“They’ve pulled off the trifecta of controversial topics,” said Brian Nosek, a social and cognitive psychologist at the University of Virginia who was not involved in the study. “When one selects intelligence, political ideology and racism and looks at any of the relationships between those three variables, it’s bound to upset somebody.” [MORE]

And so, WHO draws themselves up in high mor(on)al dudgeon?

I’ll tell you who:

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit: Canadian Professor: Conservatives Are Dumb Racists
BigFurHat / iOwnTheWorld.com: Now Wait A Damn Minute
John Hinderaker / Power Line: Yahoo News Casually Smears Conservatives
GottaLaff / The Political Carnival: Confirmed: Low IQ, conservative beliefs linked to prejudice, per study
Matthew Balan / NewsBusters.org blogs: Yahoo Trumpets Study Supposedly Linking Conservatism to Low IQ
Thers / Whiskey Fire: Going to Be a Scream

Somehow, the words “Low IQ & Conservative Beliefs Linked to Prejudice” caused the elite of the Rightie Blogosmear to use their protean command of logick to formulate the logical statement (Low IQ) + (Conservative Beliefs) = Prejudice and instantly turn it inside-out into the strange self-insult (Conservative) = Stupid + Racist.*

[* Hint: NEITHER formulation precisely describes the conclusions of the study. Oversimplification generally leads to embarrassment. Wanna-Be Sophists please note.]

And, evidently, since the jackboot fits, they IMMEDIATELY stick up for the ‘stupid racists’ of their absurd formulation…

How DARE them scientists call ALL OF US CONSERVATIVES STOOPID RACISTS!!?!

Quod Erat Demonstrandum, evidently.

This was way too easy.

If they keep tossing up these juicy softballs I’ll be rusty when they start whizzing the stupid racist fastballs by the plate.

Did I say “softballs”? I meant “meatballs.”

Courage.

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A writer, published author, novelist, literary critic and political observer for a quarter of a quarter-century more than a quarter-century, Hart Williams has lived in the American West for his entire life. Having grown up in Wyoming, Kansas and New Mexico, a survivor of Texas and a veteran of Hollywood, Mr. Williams currently lives in Oregon, along with an astonishing amount of pollen. He has a lively blog His Vorpal Sword. This is cross-posted from his blog.