On Monday’s Countdown show, MSNBC host Keith Olbermann singled out Texas to mock the religious beliefs of the state’s residents during one of his regular "Quick Comments." He began the segment by mocking the majority of Texas residents: "A mind may be a terrible thing to waste, but if you waste 15 million of them, apparently you get Texas."
After detailing statistics which show that most Texans did not realize that dinosaurs became extinct before humans existed, or that only about half believe in human evolution, Olbermann seemed to lament that he could not use the statistics to attack Republicans exclusively since the numbers are similar among members of both major parties: "I’d love to be able to pin this on political affiliation, but it’s almost a tie – 51 percent of Democrats said they either never go to church or only go once or twice a year; 45 percent of Republicans said they either never go to church or only go once or twice a year."
Below is a complete transcript of the second "Quick Comment" from the Monday, February 22, Countdown show on MSNBC:
And now, the second of tonight’s "Quick Comments," and a mind may be a terrible thing to waste, but if you waste 15 million of them, apparently you get Texas. If a University of Texas poll is correct, that is how many Texans – 60 percent of the population – either believe humans and dinosaurs lived at the same time, or are not sure. Oh, this gets much worse. Evolution does okay in Texas – 68 percent believe in it with or without the, quote, "guiding hand from God." Human evolution? Not so much. Fifty percent with or without.
I’d love to be able to pin this on political affiliation, but it’s almost a tie – 51 percent of Democrats said they either never go to church or only go once or twice a year; 45 percent of Republicans said they either never go to church or only go once or twice a year. When pollsters asked Texans if they disagreed or agreed with the statement, "God created human beings pretty much in their present form about 10,000 years ago," 38 percent of Texans agreed. Okay, the joke that goes with that statistic is so obvious, I’ll just skip it. Conclusion: Ultimately, Texas may not have to secede from the union, it may just collectively drop off like a vestigial tail.
