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Collected via email, 2013: The above-referenced list of entries detailing A Country Founded by Geniuses But Run by Idiots was widely circulated via the internet in early 2013 with an Attributed to Jeff Foxworthy tag at its head, leading many to believe it was actually the work of that nationally famous comedian. However, othen than its basic If you ... you might be ... pattern that mimics Jeff Foxworthy's popular You might be a redneck routines, this item bears little resemblance to anything produced by Foxworthy: his comedic material is typically affectionate and self-deprecating and involves poking fun at his own milieu; his brand of humor is much more apolitical and non-partisan than the list reproduced above. (Nonetheless, Jeff's name has been falsely attached to other similar political pieces that have little in common with the tenor and substance of his comedy material.) Jeff's brother, Jay, confirmed for us that this material was not written by his sibling. The original compiler of this list appears to be Fritz Edmunds, who posted it to his Politically True blog back on Feb. 3, 2013 (albeit with a disclaimer noting that some of the ideas were from an email that did not contain any copyright). The phrase founded by geniuses and run by idiots appears to be a variant of a similar statement that appeared in Herman Wouk's 1951 novel The Caine Mutiny: The Navy is a master plan designed by geniuses for execution by idiots. In the 1954 film of the same name, the line was rendered, The first thing you've got to learn about this ship is that she was designed by geniuses to be run by idiots.
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