Bless her heart.
From the comments on a post at Outside The Beltway:
By offering "facts" that appear to support Todd Akin's stupidity, McArdle is supporting Todd Akin's stupidity. She does not seem to realize this; McArdle seems to think she is being an intellectual leader and is just correcting those silly liberals' criticisms of Akin. It's leadership like this that brought her to the attention of that bastion of excellence we call Newsweek.
Megan McArdle says:
I think the attempt to draw a distinction between “legitimate rape” and illegitimate rape is loony, but IIRC, there was a study a few years ago that showed lower-than-expected conceptions from rape, indicating that women’s bodies might have some mechanism for shutting down unwanted conceptions. HOWEVER, even if I’m remembering right, it was one study, and it certainly didn’t show that no woman ever conceived after rape–just that they conceived at somewhat lower rates than you’d expect.
McArdle's reputation precedes her.
Doug Mataconis says:
@Megan McArdle:
There may be any number of reasons for that, including the possibility that the perpetrator doesn’t necessarily, umm, finish the job. A friend who is an MD saw this today and told me there’s simple no medical evidence to support what he said notwithstanding the statistical oddity.
And, then there’s the question of what the heck he means by “legitimate rape”
rudderpedals says:
Oh ye of little faith.
Rick Almeida says:
@Megan McArdle:
Megan McArdle – on hiatus, but still making things up.
Kathy Kattenburg says:
And another face palm for Megan McArdle!
DRS says:
Please tell me this isn’t the “real” Atlantic Monthly Megan McArdle. That one is bad enough but she can’t be this bad, surely?
Heh.
Commonist says:
@Megan McArdle:
HOW CAN YOUR BODY NOT REJECT YOUR SOUL THE WAY IT REJECTS FOREIGN OBJECTS.
A discussion ensues in which a commenter states that (s)he doesn't understand the animus against McArdle. "Are we liberals supposed to run away from science if it shows things that might require an extra sentence or two of explanation when we have an argument?" he or she wonders, the better to help his or her fellow liberals overcome their ideological biases and embrace science, which we all know is factual and therefore liberal, even when it is, um, hypothetical. Mr. Mataconis steps in to call the commenters to order, the commenters ask why Mr. Mataconis seems to have Megan-Only rules for internet conduct, and a good time is had by all except Mr. Mataconis. And the commentariat remains unconvinced.
Of course, when one is discussing a McFact one should always check that fact first.
Commonist says:
@Tano:
Because absolutely every single thing McMegan has ever written signals an absolutely fascinating contempt for facts, coupled with an unfailing disdain for the weak and admiration of the exploiters of the weak that is impressive even for a libertarian? She’s the urtype of the sort of bourgeois, self-compassionate, politically uncommitted yet consistently biased “commentator” that manages to be even worse than the republicans they refuse to call out for what they are. She is a nullity.
Whatever you do, don’t assume she is showing good faith or actually have read up on what she’s talking about.
MM says:
legion says:
Well, when I go to all the trouble of typing “rapist pregnancy study” into the finely-honed journalistic tool known as “The Google”, the first result is now about Akin, but the very next result is a 1996 study on rape-related pregnancies, which ends with this:
CONCLUSIONS:rather directly contradicting Akin’s disgraceful idiocy. Although I suspect Megan is thinking specifically of a study I too recall from maybe a year ago (which I have had more trouble searching for) that specifically studied rapists and found that some significant percentage of them, when actually engaging in “the act” became physically unable to continue to orgasm; hypothetically because the reality of the rape was rather less satisfying than the fantasy in the rapist’s head. However, this has exactly nothing to do with the victim’s desires in the matter of rape and/or pregnancy…
Rape-related pregnancy occurs with significant frequency. It is a cause of many unwanted pregnancies and is closely linked with family and domestic violence. As we address the epidemic of unintended pregnancies in the United States, greater attention and effort should be aimed at preventing and identifying unwanted pregnancies that result from sexual victimization.
Does she still feel smarter than both liberals and conservatives now?
Read her twitter crap today & tell me it means anything besides she thinks Fallows got her dumped from The Atlantic...
ReplyDeleteMegan McArdle @asymmetricinfo
As a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, I would like to apologize for Stephen Glass, and also, the HMO
Megan McArdle @asymmetricinfo
Don't even know how you begin to apologize for something like that MT @jordanadambanks: @asymmetricinfo You forgot Trump is an alum too!
Megan McArdle @asymmetricinfo
As a graduate of Riverdale, and an alum of his mother's history class, I would like to take credit for @josswhedon
and yes, she still tweets as "A Bloggar at the Atlantic"
That one is bad enough but she can’t be this bad, surely?
ReplyDeleteI hope someone responded, "Shirley you jest!"
~
Sometimes I think McMegan's cab driver and Yglesias's mugger were the same person.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm going to be ill.
ReplyDeleteDoug Mataconis and mcmegan deserve each other.
ReplyDelete- AWS
IIRC?? seriously?!
ReplyDeleteExpeditious use of Plan B can significantly reduce the number of pregnancies after rape.
ReplyDeleteOf course, Republicans would like to make this unavailable.
No matter what the religious right gets they will demand more because they want and need to exercise power--it doesn't matter who, what or why, they must exercise power to feel like they have power.
ReplyDeleteBut that's only one reason; they also need to raise money, and if you achieve your old goal you must make up new ones.
And if you believe that all babies are innocent and only god can take a life, the mother's death is just one of those things. The baby will always be more innocent that the mother because he's just a fetus. So no exceptions for any reason, and no birth control.
And why should health insurance cover pregnancy, "which is not a disease"?
Not that you should give aid to mothers and children. That would be communist.
And always, always, none of these rules apply to them. Their daughters should get what they need, they are not those immoral people.
Downpuppy@Downpuppy
ReplyDelete@asymmetricinfo Shouldn't you update your Twitter profile, now that you've replaced Niall Ferguson?
Snap!
I can't believe she answered the queen joke!
ReplyDeleteMegan McArdle @asymmetricinfo
Clothing makers: there are just as many ladies on the tall half of distribution as on the short? Why so much love for petites, none for us?
@Downpuppy
@asymmetricinfo It's called a Queen Size. You can't find a queen in Washington?
@Downpuppy I'm afraid queen-sized clothes are tall in the wrong direction for me.
I feel like Beavis.
I saw a study that IIRC said that squishing your head under a car tire made you smarter.
ReplyDeleteI think that would only work for McArdle.
ReplyDeleteDownpuppy, according to what I read 50% of women are 5'4" or less, 40% are 5'4 to 5'7, and 10% are tall--5'8" and up. Surely McArdle understands that it's not cost effective for most firms to sell extra tall clothes?
ReplyDeleteBut there are shops only for very tall women, especially on the internet. Maybe she can't find everything she wants but she should be able to find enough clothing.
She probably panicked when you said queen; I doubt she wants Twitter to think she is heavy.
It would be irresponsible not to speculate
ReplyDeleteI sorta liked this response to McMegan best. It's blunt and a bit crass, but it's the kind of treatment McMegan, Dick Carlson's Boy, Chelsea Clinton, Lucas Russert, and John P. Normanson needed - for the good of our very nation - and, sadly, did not get in their formative years:
ReplyDelete@Megan McArdle:
“HOWEVER, even if I’m remembering right, it was one study, and it certainly didn’t show that no woman ever conceived after rape–just that they conceived at somewhat lower rates than you’d expect.”
Excuse me?
If you’re “remembering right”?
Provide either the:
A. Damn link to the damn study; or,
B. Damn name of the damn study and the findings of the damn study.
In more direct terms, get off of your lazy, Silver Spoon, Daddy’s Little Girl, Born-On-Third-Base-And-Believe-I-Smacked-A-Mama-Rand-Triple ass and provide the bleeping factual material to support your bleeping contention.
Otherwise, run back to Big Tina and smack Niall upside the head when you get there, you impudent, overpriced-food-processor, arrogant, worthless sack of compost.
Or do I stutter?
And if you believe that all babies are innocent and only god can take a life, the mother's death is just one of those things.
ReplyDeleteWell let's not forget, there is a 50% chance that it will be a boy. Who wouldn't argue for a free upgrade?
McArdle's first comment is wall to wall bonkers, but this part kills me:
ReplyDelete"they conceived at somewhat lower rates than you’d expect."
Oh look, a straw man who has formulated expectations about the statistical rate of rape victim impregnation! Uh, are all the straw men McArdle argues against fucking psychopaths??
Don't be so hard on Megan about her clothes tweets. It's been *months* since she's had the chance to remind everyone how tall she is.
ReplyDeleteIIRC and AFAIK, at least.
Man, they don't make clothes for tall people? She must have a hard time finding new clothes.
ReplyDeleteShe must feel shabby about now.
I come from a family of intimidating academics!
ReplyDelete"[E]verybody is gang tackling Todd Akin. ... You talk about a forcible situation, you talk about somebody being a victim of forcible assault, that would be Todd Akin," - Brian Fischer, spokesman for the American Family Association.
ReplyDeleteTo the fainting couches everyone!
*faint*
Is that a legitimate gang tackle?
ReplyDeleteI think maybe MeAgain is being intentionally vague on the details of that study, since it apparently was conducted in Nazi death camps.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_f267f02f-c9eb-515d-9a42-201de9b92d64.html