Whenever my father encountered someone who thought they knew what they were talking about when the really didn't, he used to say, "They heard it ringing but didn't know where the bells were hung."
This past weekend, I was reminded of my father's favorite saying. (Story below the orange thingy).
At a friend's party, a wingnut guest complained about the "Obama lights" --you know, those spirally socialist abominations in whose favor Obama outlawed good old American lightbulbs, just to make Edison spin in his grave. Never mind that the fluorescent bulbs predate the Obama administration -- if you're of a certain mind set, it's a reflex to use "Obama" as a prefix for anything you don't like (btw, pre-Obama, this particular fool blamed everything on Clinton).
Another acquaintance chimed in: "Have you heard? The Pussycat Dolls gave a concert in Moscow and said something about President Obama, and now they're in prison for three years. So much for the First Amendment."
Whoa, dude -- what?!? But I do have to give him credit: at least he got the city right. Which then led me to point out that the First Amendment doesn't apply there, and their president is not Obama but Putin. And no, the women in the ski masks are not the group that sang about being hotter than somebody's girlfriend.
Okay, "Pussy Riot" and "Pussycat Dolls" could be confused, especially since the non-Russian press keeps referring to the former as a "band." The group refers to itself more accurately as "collective." But if you watch both on YouTube, there is really not much, besides the "pussy," the two groups have in common.
As far as "They were just giving a concert in front of a church" goes -- not exactly. They were IN the church, which was the whole point of their protest action. As far as "Bush didn't have the Dixie Chicks arrested" goes -- no, of course not. They were in London, giving a planned concert in an approved venue. Had they donned ski masks and given an impromptu performance during a service at St. Paul's Cathedral, they would have been arrested, Bush or no Bush.
And yes, dude, Obama did say something in context with Pussy Riot: he commented, along with many others, that their sentence (two years labor camp) was excessive. No, they didn't say anything against him, and he didn't pressure Putin into having them incarcerated.
This stuff can be Googled and YouTubed in five minutes, but too many people don't. They hear pussy something and Obama something and fill in the rest the way it makes sense to them. And this is who votes.