Why do conservatives lie so much?

Because this is just so, so common.

Setup. The Navy decided that they wanted to update the way they feed sailors. To do this they looked to their own Navy Seals, guys who typically like to eat well, and adopted their Fuel To Fight program. The Navy rebranded it "Go For Green" and started to revamp their galleys on ships and bases.

From The Navy Times.

Quote:

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced a host of sweeping changes in May that will affect everything from promotions and training to uniforms and fitness. As part of that, he has set his sights on a well-balanced diet, which he calls "the foundation of a healthy lifestyle" that will provide capable warfighters and lower medical costs. Mabus touted the SEALs' "Fuel to Fight" program as an example. It increases the availability of lean-proteins, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates to fuel, rather than feed, the warfighter. Other galleys here have implemented "Go for Green," a Department of Defense nutrition program that teaches sailors to recognize and select healthier foods. As leadership looks to boost sailors' nutrition to new levels, the recipe will mix these programs and add new ingredients. Mabus promised to "further develop the concept at one sea-based and one shore-based unit next year, and implement it fleet-wide in 2017."

Sounds okay to me. Does it sound nefarious to you?

And that's where the popular online news site Conservative Tribune comes into the picture. Conservative Tribune (tagline: In Defense Of Western Civilization) ran the following headline.

BREAKING: Michelle Takes Food From U.S. Navy, Sailors Immediately Unleash THIS Response

Hmm, so what? This enigmatic lead then was followed by this:

The brave, hard-working sailors who make up the ranks of the United States Navy were outraged after they learned of a coming food ban that may have been instigated by the gross overreach of First Lady Michelle Obama’s “healthy” eating agenda.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced that at some point in the near future, fried chicken, french fries and other fried foods often served to hungry, calorie-burning sailors busy defending our country will be permanently banned from Navy menus.


Sailors aren’t happy about it, either. They used the Navy Time’s Facebook page to vent their frustrations, accusing Obama of using her influence to promote what she thinks is considered healthy eating, even though that’s largely not the case.

So...what was a Navy initiative to make their menus healthier, on e based on a preexisting Navy Seals program, somehow got turned into a "food ban" by Michelle Obama.

Interestingly the first link up there in that article leads to another Conservative Tribune article about a single case where a single student found a worm in their lunch which somehow was Michelle Obama's fault. The last link is to another CT article about a student writing a letter complaining about their lunch.

Did Michelle Obama have any connection to this Navy initiative? Well aside form the fact that I'm pretty sure the First Lady has little to no authority over the Department of Defense flower gardens let alone their nutritional policies I also can find zero reference to it outside of this CT article. In fact Snopes came up empty too. http://ift.tt/1GoGP4j

So, to recap. The Navy changes their menu. Conservatives turn this into a food ban which will lead to sailors starving while out at sea. This gets shared a bazillion times on facebook which is where I ended up finding it when someone smeared it in my virtual face going "SEE, THIS IS WHY MOOOCHELLE IS EVIL!"

And there you go. Lies and confirmation bias. Par for the course for the right wing these days.

via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/1gVf5j3