"That's some scary shit right there"

sleephead has linked to something rather un-shocking: that America is no longer the pinnacle of the world's achievements.

Some facts:

• Twenty percent of Americans think the sun orbits the earth. Seventeen percent believe the earth revolves around the sun once a day. (The Week, Jan. 7, 2005). [Ed. Apparently only 63% believes that the earth spins on its axis and orbits the sun once a year!]
• Our workers are so ignorant and lack so many basic skills that American businesses spend $30 billion a year on remedial training (NYT, Dec. 12, 2004). No wonder they relocate elsewhere! [Ed. The real for outsourcing!]
• The United States is 41st in the world in infant mortality. Cuba scores higher (NYT, Jan. 12, 2005).
• As of last June, the U.S. imported more food than it exported (NYT, Dec. 12, 2004). [Ed. Major, major shit!]
• “Nearly one out of four Americans [believe] that using violence to get what they want is acceptable” (The European Dream, p.32). [Ed. Have we not learned?]
• Forty-three percent of Americans think torture is sometimes justified, according to a PEW Poll (Associated Press, Aug. 19, 2004). [Ed. They must be so spoiled to think torture is good. Or maybe they're sexually perverted, since a number of them probably loves sadomasochism and bondage.]

I know we're all talking about diversity, and government can't abridge people's beliefs, but really, this is too much. Science is knowledge based on observations, experiments, and mathematics. Religion deals not with science but with personal faith in the afterlife and philosophy.

What's happening to America here? Is this what led to Bush's election, or was it the other way around? I'm inclined to the former.