Sure, a lot of patents are ridiculous.
Especially software patents.
Sometimes I wonder if & how many people in the USPTO are actually taking bribes to rubber stamp certain applications from certain people/organizations? I wish I knew...but then ignorance is bliss.
There are patent watchdog groups that look for evidence of examiner favoritism, and I don't think they've ever suspected bribery.
Apparently it's more about the whole system being set up to favor quicker decisions. Examiners are rated by quantity over quality these days, and have certain time limits. It is the US government, after all, and there are limited resources.
So what large companies like Apple do, is wear an examiner down. They repeatedly apply, get rejected, modify a few claims, and apply again. They do this until an examiner has spent so much time on it, that he gives up and issues the patent... figuring that it can always be challenged later on.