THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH!

Like everyone else with an email account, I receive a lot of forwards every day. Some I just delete with barely a glance, especially those that warn me of damnation to follow if I don't forward it. Some I read, agree or disagree, and delete. Some make me laugh out loud, or provide my "Awwww" moment for the day. (I love those!) There are those which I just know instinctively are not true. However, if they're sufficiently intriguing, I vet them through Truthorfiction.com. If they can be verified, and I think folks on my list would be interested, then I might forward them. If they turn out to be hoaxes, I usually notify the sender, though that sometimes doesn't endear me to that person. Still, if it were me, I'd want to know.

Occasionally one comes along that just strikes all sorts of chords, and begs to be forwarded. I received one of those today. I was unable to verify this in its entirety, but it's really not necessary. The things that can be verified, such as the Kennedy thing, (and yes, TorF does have this one) live in the memories of many of us anyway. Who could forget Toad Kennedy's escapade at Chappaquiddick, when Mary Jo Kopechne drowned in his wrecked car, while he swam to safety? Remember how he made it to the compound for dry clothes and coffee, but was "too confused" to report the accident for over six hours, enough time to be sure the girl had drowned, and by which time the archangel of the Democratic party was sober enough to risk calling the police? Not everyone will remember that the girl was pregnant, because there was only one little newspaper article that mentioned it, but I do remember seeing it, with my own two little beady eyes, and remember searching for more about it in the papers, but it had been thoroughly squelched.

The rest of the specific events mentioned in this email are verifiable too. We all know about Ayers - he WAS convicted, you know - and his connection to Obama is documented and undeniable. How can we even consider a candidate who has ties to a convicted terrorist?

Some of the points in this email are matters of opinion and not verifiable, such as how fishing without a license stacks up to a lawyer practicing plagiarism. And by the way, if we want to consider liability for spousal errors, I'll take Mr. Palin's fishing license thing AND his 22-year old DUI, over Michelle Obama's America-bashing thesis any day. For these "opinion points", you'll just have to let your conscience be your guide.

Here's the body of it:

Listening to the mainstream media these last few days I've learned a few things about the GOP's VP nominee but also had to learn a few things on my own. To wit:

1. From the media I learned Sarah Palin's husband has a DUI conviction from 22 years ago. On my own I learned that Ted Kennedy (hero of last week's tribute at the DNC) was drunk while driving a car off a bridge in Chappaquiddick. That same crash killed a young campaign volunteer with whom he was having an affair. Oh, and that woman was pregnant with his child. Mr. Palin's (who is not running for office) DUI came a mere 4 years after Barack Obama (who is running for president) stopped using cocaine and marijuana (by his own admission in his autobiography).

Shocking - it's OK for the presidential candidate to use drugs or the party patriarch to kill someone while driving drunk yet the husband of a VP candidate should be demonized for something done 22 years ago.

2. From the media I learned that Sarah Palin's daughter is pregnant. On my own I learned that Joe Biden's (the other VP candidate) son was paid a large amount of money as a consultant to credit card company MBNA.
That same company had business before Senator Joe Biden concerning regulation of consumer credit practices. After the company paid a hefty sum to Mr. Biden's son, he voted in favor of legislation to help that company.
* That same son, Hunter, is also engaged in a legal investigation and suit for defrauding a former business partner

Shocking - it's a crime for the republican VP candidate to have a child who's pregnant even though it's irrelevant to how she performs her job. It's ok, however, for the democrat VP candidate while a senator to vote in favor of a company who paid his son over a quarter of a million dollars.

3. From the media I learned that Sarah Palin should be considered "selfish" for agreeing to run for VP knowing about her daughter's condition. Knowing that her public role would bring extra scrutiny on the family is selfish and she should have declined to protect her child (actually heard this on ABC this weekend).

Strange - the same people who said Sarah is selfish for running for VP did not seem to care about any impact on Chelsea when Bill Clinton had his dalliance with Monica Lewinsky. That was a private, personal matter, you see.

4. From the media I have learned to be "concerned" that Sarah Palin probably won't be able to manage her family and do an effective job of being VP at the same time.

Funny - I never heard anything about Hillary's ability to support Chelsea while re-doing healthcare or any of the other feminist icons who say you can balance work and family. They also never mention that Barack will have to balance time with his children while meeting with heads of rogue nations or how Joe Biden's kids don't even have a mom and will be fighting for his time while he hosts White House coffee fundraisers and sells nights in the Lincoln bedroom.

5. From the media I have learned that Sarah Palin is "too inexperienced" to be a heartbeat-away from the presidency. Apparently taking on corruption in your own party and running a state that's the same size people-wise as Delaware (hint hint: that's where Joe Biden is from) is not really experience. * However, time spent as a "community organizer" and less than 180 days in the senate where you've authored no significant legislation is just the type of "change" we're looking for from the top of the ticket.

Funny - inexperience at the top of the ticket is a mantra for "change" and "hope" while strong practical everyday experience as the #2 is cause for concern.
;
6. From the media I learned that Sarah Palin's husband once got a ticket for fishing without a license.
* I haven't heard much about the fact that if he were still a practicing attorney, the VP candidate Joe Biden would be dis-barred for plagiarism not once but multiple times.

It's ok to break the rules if you're a democrat candidate but not Ok if you are the spouse of a republican candidate.

7. From the media I learned that Sarah Palin doesn't know much about Iraq; in fact we wonder if she even knows where it is.
* Sarah's son volunteered into the US military and is now deployed in Iraq. I guess that doesn't count.

Sarah has spent more time with troops in Iraq (as commander of the Alaska National Guard she visited Iraq last year) than Obama has even while running for president. In fact, when Sarah went to Iraq she spent time with the troops. When Obama went there, he skipped a base visit to instead go work out at the Ritz Carlton.

8. From the media I learned that Sarah Palin is a "lightweight" and she better be a "quick study" to keep up with this team.

Funny, nobody is talking about how, after Barack Obama had "visited 57
states" according to him he only had "5 more to go" or endless other stupid gaffes that expose who he really is.

9. From the media I have learned that (gasp!), Sarah Palin's husband was once a registered member of a 3rd party that favored states' rights (man, this is really bad stuff).

* That same media has been silent to the story that when Barack Obama announced his first senate run, he did so in the home of William Ayers. Mr. Ayers is an un-repentant terrorist convicted for bombing the pentagon.
This same Mr. Ayers said on 9/11 that he and his group did not do enough to harm our military and he wished he had done more. During the same time as that comment, he was serving on a board with Barack Obama. All notes and information about their serving together is now locked up by the corrupt Chicago machine and reporter access to those records are being blocked by the Obama campaign.

If we've had any doubts about the bias of the media, it's pretty clear now where they stand. Pass this on to some of your friends who are on the fence and who get all their information from Katie Couric, Wolf Blitzer, Tom Brokaw and the gang. This is egregious and corrupt. The only way to stop it is to spread information using other outlets and make these guys irrelevant.

This brings me to the whole point of this particular edition of the blog. We HAVE those "other outlets". It's called email. It's called blogs. It's called the Internet, and Al Gore invented it! (Sorry, just kidding!) Home computers are almost as common as telephones these days. There are still a few homes who don't have one, but the residents of those homes usually have access to one at school, at work, or yes - on their cell phone. We have a network in place that can disseminate information at a very rapid rate. It's a blessing, if used properly.

The downside is that anybody who can touch a keyboard can put out anything they wish, and call it gospel. Unfortunately, far too many people do not take the time or effort to verify something before forwarding it. It sounds sensational, so hit "Forward" and "Global List" and off it goes. No, there are no HIV-infected needles hidden in the handle of gas pumps, and no, Bill Gates is not going to send you $100 for every email you forward, no matter how important the information in the email might be.

The bottom line here is that we must use this gift, this weapon, this terrible swift sword, with careful responsibility. It is a fearsome tool, one with which we can utterly defeat the biased traditional media, but it is going to take the most meticulous scrutiny on the part of everyone who ever hits a "forward" button. We can't afford to circulate trash and untruths. Fun stuff - sure. Cute pictures - of course. Inspirational messages - certainly, provided the stories are true.

Political matters are the dangerous ground. We have at our disposal the means to circulate truth when the news media - TV, radio, newspapers, magazines - are slaves to their bias and do not report all the truth, or put such a spin on it that it's not recognizable, or even in some cases, report blatant lies.

The fact is, there has been some "spinning" done on both sides, not just by the traditional media. For example, as much as I'd like to believe it, Obama did not say "I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction."- Fiction!
This is a corruption of a quote from Obama's book The Audacity of Hope. It is from a section that talks about the concerns of immigrants who are American citizens.

Here is the accurate and more complete quote: "Of course, not all my conversations in immigrant communities follow this easy pattern. In the wake of 9/11, my meetings with Arab and Pakistani Americans, for example, have a more urgent quality, for the stories of detentions and FBI questioning and hard stares from neighbors have shaken their sense of security and belonging. They have been reminded that the history of immigration in this country has a dark underbelly; they need specific assurances that their citizenship really means something, that America has learned the right lessons from the Japanese internments during World War II, and that I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction." (Per Truthorfiction.com)

As you can see, what he actually said in his book, is much less damning than the quote that has been circulated. As much as we might wish he had said it, and believe that he could have said it, the fact is, he didn't, at least not that we can prove.

Truth is truth, and should be reported as such. He has done enough to condemn himself, undeniable and unconscionable gaffes and slips that reveal where his head and his heart really are. It is not necessary for us to manufacture such things and repeat them. To do so only makes the Republicans and conservatives appear desperate and dishonest. Give him enough rope and he will hang himself. We do not need to build the gallows.

So, my friends, in the few weeks we have left, spread the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And then, VOTE!