Tag: Spurious quotes

On Presidents Day, Family Research Council Incorrectly Quotes Presidents

Like these…
(Update: Since I posted these tweets, FRC has taken down the George Washington quote. Clean up the Lincoln quote and they will be almost back where they started.)


Mt. Vernon’s website lists this as a spurious quote.


The Lincoln quote is probably made up but FRC and President Obama have something in common.
Apparently, this bogus quote has been taken down.


Monticello gives this a thumbs down.
They also have a Reagan quote which sounds like Reagan but I can’t find a source for it.

The Institute on the Constitution Posts Another Incorrect Quote Attribution – This Time They Get Thomas Paine Wrong

The Institute on the Constitution claims to be an educational outreach of Michael Peroutka’s law firm. Miseducational outreach would be a better term. They claim to teach about the founders but they often are sloppy and attribute things to the founders they didn’t say.
Once, they claimed Jefferson said something he didn’t say and then they botched George Washington as well.  Now, the target of false quotation is Thomas Paine.
Paine IOTC False Quote
Paine never said it; it most likely originated with Edward Abbey.
Note that it has been shared 1600 times. That’s a lot of ignorance for which IOTC is responsible.
For those keeping track, IOTC’s senior instructor is still listed as chaplain of the Maryland/Virginia chapter of the League of the South, a white supremacist organization.
Whitney MD chapter of LOS
How many churches who host IOTC courses know they are involved with an organization which is run by a former board member of a white supremacist group and which promotes the teaching of a current chaplain of a state chapter of that same white supremacist group?
 

Institute on the Constitution Posts Spurious Thomas Jefferson Quote

The Institute on the Constitution just can’t seem to get quotes right.
On their Facebook page, the neo-Confederate organization periodically features quotes they claim come from the founders. However, the quote are often spurious.  The most recent one attributed to Thomas Jefferson was posted earlier this month:
 

How fitting for the times we are in!www.theamericanview.com
Posted by Institute on the Constitution on Tuesday, April 7, 2015

This appears to be derived from Ayn Rand, but not said by Jefferson; so says Monticello.
This isn’t the first time. IOTC has promoted other false quotes (see here, and here).  If they can’t get easy stuff right, makes you wonder what they teach in their trainings. Actually, I don’t have to wonder since I have seen the video presentation of it. Not recommended (e.g., see here, and here)