Posts with the tag Myth

WhiteHouse.gov Reality Check on Health Insurance Reform

Henry M — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:31:15 EDT

Please send this to everyone you know and ask them to do the same. Get the word out!

Get the Facts about the stability and security you get from health insurance reform
Reform will stop "rationing" - not increase it
Kavita Patel, who works with Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett and who worked for years before as a physician, debunks the myth that reform will mean a "government takeover" of health care or lead to "rationing." To the contrary, reform will forbid many forms of rationing that are currently being used by insurance companies.
The "euthanasia" distortion on help for families
Melody Barnes, the President's Director of the Domestic Policy Council, debunks the malicious myth that reform would encourage or even require euthanasia for seniors.
Vets' health care is safe and sound
Matt Flavin, Director of Veterans and Wounded Warrior Policy, explains that nothing in health insurance reform will affect veterans' access to the care they get now. To the contrary, the President's budget greatly expands coverage for veterans who have been denied access in the past.
Reform will benefit small business - not burden it
Christina Romer, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, debunks the myth that health insurance reform will hurt small businesses. To the contrary, reform will ease the burdens on small businesses and help level the playing field with big firms who pay much less to cover their employees on average.

Henry M

"MYTH"

James — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 22:21:22 EDT

Joseph Campbell was interviewed years ago by Bill Moyers. The product of that interview became known ad the Power of Myth. Mythology is vitally important to the success strategy of the entire human species. We a deep need to believe in things in order to fully apply the magnificent intellect were have been given. Any living organism can respond or react to stimuli. It takes belief to fully engage the intellect, and then change the very environment within which we live. Lately there have been studies which have elevated the status of other animals who inhabit this earth. From apes to elephants and dolphins, among larger mammals, and even among birds. These other animals are toolmakers and users, like us, but within certain limits. They are social and capable of self-awareness (in narrow testing) and communication. But only one animal reshapes the environment around it. And that is us. We have homes, cars, computers, heat, air-conditioning and space craft. We have tools so complex that only some of us understand what they do. We have specialties and study. We have books and electronics of such complexity that it takes years of schooling just to read or come to terms with them.

And all of this is because of belief. We believe we can do it. We believe that we are the pre-eminent species on earth, and so we are. We believe we are the pre-eminent species among the universe, and so we are (so far). We believe that things will get better, and so we get out of bed every morning and attempt to make that so. We dream from believing, and then come to believe from our dreaming. There is nothing like us and there never has been, that we know of. And, more amazingly, we are even capable of dreaming and believing that there might be greater creatures than we are. We can dream and believe that anything might be. We have the power of myth as an integral part of over very being. The power of myth is the spine of every culture existing on this planet, and none of those cultures, or the myths, are the same.

But the power of myth causes us great problems, as well as it allows us great advances. For example; we come to believe things that are not true. That is okay if a culture is believing in a supreme being of mysterious origin. But it is not okay if that same culture is believing what it is being told about something as seemingly simple as profits. Yes, profits. When you make something and then sell it, after you have subtracted the costs of manufacture and sales, then you have money leftover, if you properly charged a good price for the product. That leftover amount is called profit. What has profit got to do with myth? We just had two of our huge remaining banks declare multi-billion dollar profits, following a lengthy period of giant losses and government bailouts. Where is the myth? Part of the financial problems we are experiencing today is because of these kinds of mis-stated (lied about) profits! The bank managers and financial house gurus figured out that they could ask for a big chunk of any enormous profits they made for investors over the past twenty years. Then they sat down with their mythically responding accounting firms and lied about how great the profits were. They inflated everything, then gook great gobs of the mythical profits as their own. Their fair share, so to speak. Mythically speaking.

Now, here we are again. There simply is no way in this current market to make huge profits. But, they have gotten together again anyway, waited a little bit, and simply created new numbers to demonstrate mythical profits. The bonuses will flow again across the Madison Avenue conduits. The liars and mythologists will cream great gobs of non-existent profits and take them offshore, or convert them into Bentleys, hundred foot yachts, G-4 private jets and opulent residences. Once again. A few months from now, or a few years from now, more bail-outs will have to be made. After all, we cannot allow these big banks to go down. The damage to our mythical financial structure would be too great. Or so the same rotten and powerful thieves mythically claim.

This is where the power of myth hurts us. And this is where television will not allow itself to be used to help us. Television (remember, Marrow, Cronkite, et al) has been emasculated. It cannot penetrate, will not penetrate, this area of mythology and reveal to the world what is going on. And so I curse the damn thing, as I watch it, because I too have nothing else.

I am also still hurting over the loss of mythology that has doomed our space program to a tattered broken future. We are unlikely to go back to the moon or on to Mars. Our children will watch Chinese astronauts or Indian spacemen make those trips. And I hurt deep down over this loss. The power of myth is such a many edged sword. Will this comatose and sleeping culture arise from it's collective couch, put down the Miller Lite, set aside the glass of wine, and rise back into consciousness? Will the sword of the power of myth once again be wielded by this brash collection of made-up men and women to swing outward toward the universe in great expressive thrusts? I don't know. I do know that we cannot allow the finances of this country to be used only for the self-enrichment of a very few. We must get our act together. If we do not then that couch, and that tankard of beer, or that glass of wine, is all we will have, that and the bland nothingness of a thousand blaring channels of droolingly stupid 'reality' television to guide us on into a meaningless death.

Cry, this beloved country! Stand up! Look around! Do something! Anything! Throw these bastards in Congress out. Make Obama lead us to a better future. You deserve it. Our ancestors paid for it. I deserve it. I want it. Do you? Well, just how bad?

http://www.jamesstraussauthor.com

http://www.themastodons.com

http://www.from-the-chateau-dif.blogspot.com

Unmasking the truth behind "clean coal"

Lee Love — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 09:20:41 EST

A villager from Mae Moh joins the protest at the heavily guarded entrance of the APEC Clean Coal meeting venue in Lampang province, 600 kms north of Bangkok.

Enlarge Image

“Clean coal” is an attempt by the coal industry to try and make itself relevant in the age of renewables.

What is (so-called) “clean coal”?

Coal is a highly polluting energy source. It emits much more carbon per unit of energy than oil, and natural gas. CO2 represents the major portion of greenhouse gases. It is, therefore, one of the leading contributors to climate change. From mine to sky, from extraction to combustion -- coal pollutes every step of the way. The huge environmental and social costs associated with coal usage make it an expensive option for developing countries. From acid drainage from coal mines, polluting rivers and streams, to the release of mercury and other toxins when it is burned, as well as climate-destroying gases and fine particulates that wreak havoc on human health, COAL is unquestionably, a DIRTY BUSINESS.

It is a major contributor to climate change – the biggest environmental threat we face. It is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel, emitting 29% more than oil, 80% more carbon dioxide (the main driver of climate change) per unit of energy than gas.

Mercury is a particular problem. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), mercury and its compounds are highly toxic and pose a ‘global environmental threat to humans and wildlife.’ Coal-fired power and heat production are the largest single source of atmospheric mercury emissions. There are no commercially available technologies to prevent mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants.

“Clean coal” is the industry’s attempt to “clean up” its dirty image – the industry’s greenwash buzzword. It is not a new type of coal.

“Clean coal” technology (CCT) refers to technologies intended to reduce pollution. But no coal-fired power plants are truly ‘clean’.

“Clean coal” methods only move pollutants from one waste stream to another which are then still released into the environment. Any time coal is burnt, contaminants are released and they have to go somewhere. They can be released via the fly ash, the gaseous air emissions, water outflow or the ash left at the bottom after burning. Ultimately, they still end up polluting the environment.

“Clean coal” methods only move pollutants from one waste stream to another.

Communities after communities have lamented the hosting of coal-fired plants. They are often ignored due to governments' preference for polluting power plants yet they often bear the burden of adversely altered lives.

Despite over 10 years of research and $5.2 billion of investment in the US alone , scientists are still unable to make coal clean. The Australian government spends A$0.5 million annually to promote Australia’s ‘clean coal’ to the Asia Pacific region. “Clean coal” technologies are expensive and do nothing to mitigate the environmental effects of coal mining or the devastating effects of global warming. Furthermore, clean coal research risks diverting investment away from renewable energy, which is available to reduce greenhouse gas emissions now.

The first CCT programs were set up in the late 1980s in response to concerns over acid rain. The programs focused on reducing emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and oxides of nitrogen (NOX), the primary causes of acid rain. Now the elusive promise of “clean coal” technology is being used to promote coal as an energy source.

A price worth paying?

Many of the ‘clean coal’ technologies being promoted by the coal industry are still in the development stage and will take hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars and many more years before they are commercially available. “Clean coal” technologies are also extremely expensive in terms of day to day running costs. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates the capital costs of a typical IGCC plant (an experimental low-emission coal power station) to be US$1,383/kW, $2,088/kW with carbon sequestration. This compares with US$1,015/kW for a typical wind farm.

Summary

“Clean coal” is an attempt by the coal industry to try and make itself relevant in the age of renewables. Existing CCTs do nothing to mitigate the environmental effects of coal mining or the devastating effects of global warming. Coal is the dirtiest fuel there is and belongs in the past. Much higher emission cuts can be made using currently available natural gas, wind and modern biomass that are already in widespread use. Clean, inexpensive. This is where investment should be directed, rather than squandering valuable resources on a dirty dinosaur.

Visit the links below to read more about 'clean coal':

"Tell me why why oh why you cry, when you lie to me"

Kenneth — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:25:58 EST

So there is this guy, Guy Dubord, Who wrote a pamphlet named, "The Society of the Spectacle" http://library.nothingness.org/articles/SI/en/pub_contents/4 Wikipedia has an excellent overview of the pamphlet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_the_Spectacle Guy Debord and his group , the "Situationists" are pretty interesting and worthy of an afternoons reading but I digress.

I present this pamphlet because the points it makes are so relevant to culture today and ultimately our experience day to day. In it he asserts that, "All that was once directly lived has become mere representation." I spent a few weeks in the early Nineties going to various churches with my dear friend Linda who, by the way has recently lost her husband Victor; Jesus Linda what can I say. We were looking for Gospel of the homespun variety. What we found were churchfulls of people who participated entirely in the service. Although it is true that the "Spectacle" was present in the form of preachers and choirs and bands of various sizes doing their thing on risers above the faithful, the dynamic had a call and response feel in which the events on the stage served as foci from which a maelstrom of activity and emotional intensity emerged. This was not mere group participation. It was more like a merging.

I write about this because, A. It was beautiful and if you've not done it you should, and B. because it is an example, I think, of how the human spirit prevails within the context of the "Society of the Spectacle". Our very closest assumptions about culture and our places in it are formed in the thickest muck at the bottom of the lake of our collective subconscious. Those assumptions form the boundaries or parameters of our expectations of self and society. This lake of subconscious is ultimately fed and grows through streamlets and rivers of myth, ever changing and evolving. Myth is the story we tell ourselves over and over, the story that we tell our children. It is a recursive phenomenon. On one hand it may be presumptuous to think that "Spectacle" has any power over this process. On the other hand one might assert that our self image as a society is based on an assumption of passivity. An assumption that we are, if only until we get out our wallets, like princes and princesses in court fanning ourselves while a parade of spectacles parades before us.

"Ah Me!"

We are seduced by the spectacle while being entirely unaware that it is the spectacle insidiously that forms our definitions of self and society by replacing the function of myth within our society. We feel empowered by the parade but are constrained by it's very nature to not merge with it. It has become an industry, one that exists throughout the world and one that is, once seen for what it is, extremely interesting.

So what's it all about Alfie?

Well first of all, I think, we gotta yell in church. Second of all we gotta not abandon the root of our myth as served up by our predecessors because it is only through evolution that myth can change. Third we gotta mix it up and see what comes. Most of all we gotta see the process for what it is and know that life is far richer than we are led to believe, that the sky is the limit. K.

Faith In Obama Is A Fact! "Closet Racism" Is A Myth!

David from Ojai, CA — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:49:58 EDT

"I can't tell my husband, but I am 100% behind Obama," a voter from Nevada told me one night while phone banking. Our Ojai volunteer campaign office has placed more than 5,000 calls to Nevada and New Mexico and we are hearing similar stories from men, women, and children from these more conservative battleground states. Quite the opposite of the occasional news-line that "closet racism" may hurt Senator Obama's election bid, we are finding undecided voters to be overwhelming Obama supporters! Our office polls show Senator Obama ahead 3 to 1 amongst undecided voters in Nevada, even higher in New Mexico, and a 6 to 1 margin in our California calling. More and more, people are feeling the power that comes with making up your own mind for yourself and they are asking for yard signs, buttons, and tee shirts more than at any point in this campaign. The people who are not honest about their own beliefs and that harbor such feelings weren't going to vote Democrat anyway: they will not sway this election even a part of one point, so forget about 'em!

Let's stay positive, remain confident that we are on the brink of monumental progress in our great country, and push on through to November 4! Faith in our fellow citizens is a two way street: we get as we give. We know others will do the right thing as we ourselves are sure we will do the same for them! Keep it up and smile, smile, smile.

Thanks for listening.

David

The McCain/Hero myth

GoyitoMKE — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:17:54 EDT

Like many extended American families, my family’s members represent a wide range of political opinions. My mother and her recently deceased older sister, for example, were about 180 degrees apart (with my aunt the one on the far right side of the spectrum).

My aunt’s husband of 50+ years was a career Air Force officer who retired with the rank of Colonel, rising from a humble start as an enlisted man during WWII. Their son Bob, my cousin, piloted B52 bombers in combat over Vietnam following ROTC training. And his son, following in his father and grandfather’s footsteps, also enjoyed a career in the Air Force after graduating from the Air Force Academy.

I haven’t kept in touch with my cousin over the years, so it came as a real surprise to me recently when I learned that he and other members of his family are supporting Obama in this election. This morning, I received an email from him, in which he shared some words he has written to several newspapers to counter the McCain/Hero myth. They are so striking that I felt the need to share them…

“As a former B-52 pilot with hundreds of combat hours in Vietnam, I was always fearful of being shot down and captured. Thank God I was never put to the test, because none of us knew for certain how we would react. But if the worst happened, we airmen were thoroughly trained and believed in our sacred duty to resist aiding and abetting the enemy at any cost. We openly discussed and took pride in reinforcing our bedrock intention to accept death before dishonor. While we sympathized with those POW's who succumbed to torture and made damaging statements about America, we never elevated them to hero status. If anything, we pitied and looked down on them. Our real heroes were the ones who stood firm in the face of unimaginable horror. They set the standard of patriotism to which we all aspired, but hoped we would never have to rise. Upon reflection, I now know that the secret to our resistance training was a belief in something so much bigger than ourselves that individual capitulation was never an option. We all knew who had it and who didn't. That's why I'm betting many of John McCain's squadron mates weren't terribly surprised when his character cracked in Hanoi.” His email went on to list the link to the recent Rolling Stone exposé of McCain at http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/make_believe_maverick_the_real_john_mccain

Arab Muslim Apartheid world vs democratic Israel the gem in the jungle

Martha from Washington, DC — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 13:42:16 EDT

Arab Muslim Apartheid world vs democratic Israel the gem in the jungle

With the elections (in Israel) over, and as the political machinations surrounding the formation of the new Israeli government reach their height, it is of note that in "apartheid Israel" (which is also accused by the Palestinians of "ethnic cleansing"), around 12 Arabs, Bedouin and Druze will sit in Jerusalem's 17th Knesset. That's 10% of the parliament. Exactly how many Jews are represented in the parliaments of Cairo, Rabat, Amman, Baghdad, Damascus or even Ramallah?
http://dfrankfurter.livejournal.com/73264.html

Not one media representative will use the true applicable word: Apartheid & Racism where it belongs, i.e. Islamo Arab world.
All of it!

The Islamic Apartheid that created a myth on beautiful Israel

Martha from Washington, DC — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 13:30:38 EDT

The Islamic Apartheid that created a myth on Israel

The very APARTHEID bastion of the world, otherwise known as the ‘Islamic world’, or the totalitarian dictatorships inc. where no one is ever equal there, not women, not one class to the other, not one minority has any decent rights, but persecuted in the regular Arab racism’s supremacy & Islamic apartheid, or Islamo fascism.

In order to divert attention from the real criminals of apartheid in this world [or to disperse their populations' resentment of the oppressive regimes, after all, what else can can so 'unify' that intolerant culture than common hatred?], and much much worse then that [to say the least], they, in their collective hatred & Apartheid motivation against the ‘non Arab’ the ‘non Muslim’ entity AKA Israel, to deny it’s right to exist, have come up with a myth about “apartheid in Israel”, what it actually means is that if democratic & free Israel dares to defend it’s self from a Racist Arab terrorist it is doomed to be branded as an “apartheid” system.

The sad part is of course that some have been bought by Arab oil money like Jimmy Carter, but the world should not let the magic sand cover the Arabian monsters including those “freedom fighters” fascists in Gaza that oppress Christians or those “moderate” ‘Palestinians’ that try to ethnic cleanse all Jews from the land, and so far there’s not one Jewish family under “moderate” fascist ‘palestine’.

More...

Politico: Story behind the story: The Clinton Myth

W. Gilyard — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:14:04 EDT

Pass it on and post this everywhere.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/9149.html

This story isn't spin either. Frankly, it's one of the most objective pieces I've seen in a while.
There is a reason why they [Media and the Clintons] keep playing up this whole J. Wright thing, even though Obama addressed it and disavowed the comments.

Whether you like Clinton, McCain, or Obama--the reality of this story is sad.

Again, pass it on.

The Clinton Myth

jgabriel — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:41:08 EDT

I think we all know Clinton's staffers, judging by their recent arrogant comments, are living in a dream world. Politico explores this a little bit more:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/9149.html

Clinton's BIG STATE Myth

Tracey Malesa-Wheaton; Dyed-in-the-wool-DEM — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:58:24 EST

Clinton's "Big State" Myth: Why Barack Obama Remains the Most Electable Democrat This Fall

Posted March 5, 2008 | 05:48 PM (EST) By Robert Creamer

The Clinton Campaign's post March 4th message is to forget about the delegate count and nominate Hillary because she can win the big states Democrats need in November. That argument simply doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Here's why:

Buzz up!on Yahoo!

1) Most of the "Big States" she has won are not battleground states in the fall. New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and California are solid blue states where Obama would do as well or better than Clinton in a general election against McCain.

2) Of the states she's won so far, the big exception to this rule is Ohio. Ohio is in fact a critical battleground state where Hillary has demonstrated that she has a leg up among lower income whites and older voters. But the polling also shows that in a general election, Barack offsets this advantage in Ohio among young voters and college-educated independents. In a McCain-Clinton match up the later group could gravitate heavily to McCain in Ohio.

In an Ohio general election, Obama's ability to attract independents and mobilize young and minority voters will trump Clinton's advantages among non-college whites -- a group that will break heavily for either Barack or Hillary against the "free trade" McCain.

Just remember, in Ohio right now, "national security" is a job. The economy and trade -- not "national security" -- will almost certainly continue to be the overriding issues for non-college whites in Ohio this November.

3) Obama puts in play a panoply of states where Clinton would have a much tougher time. Obama could potentially win Virginia (13 electoral votes), Missouri (11 electoral votes) and even Mississippi (whose population is 40% African American -- 6 electoral votes). He would be considerably more competitive than Clinton in other battleground states like Colorado (9 electoral votes), Iowa (7 electoral votes), Wisconsin (10 electoral votes), Minnesota (10 electoral votes) and Michigan (17 electoral votes). The same goes for New Hampshire (4 electoral votes) -- a state where McCain will work hard to woo independents among whom Obama did much better than Clinton in this year's primary.

4) Even in states where Clinton could make a case for some advantages relative to Obama, these "advantages" are far from certain. Take Florida where she might assert an advantage among Latinos. Florida also has up to 500,000 newly enfranchised ex-felons -- many of whom are African American. The problem with these new voters is mobilization, not persuasion. Getting them registered and voting will be hard. Obama would obviously turn out many more African American mobilizable voters than Clinton. And when it comes to Latino voters, Obama's clear record on immigration contrasts well with McCain who has thrown Latino immigration reform aspirations under the bus in order to pander to his party's right wing.

5) Obama has the one quality that allows him to simultaneously motivate mobilizable base voters and appeal to persuadable independents -- the ability to inspire. This quality allows him to broaden the appeal of his candidacy to swing voters. At the same time it allows him to expand the electorate with new young and African American voters who otherwise simply wouldn't vote. Clinton is the anti-inspiration candidate. She will have a much harder time both expanding the electorate and appealing to swing voters. Obama's ability to inspire -- by itself -- makes him a much stronger general election candidate.

6) Finally, let's remember that the base of the Republican Party -- cultural conservatives -- is not so wild about McCain. They are accepting McCain with about as much enthusiasm as children take cough medicine. They know they need him, but they really aren't happy about it. The one thing that could energize the Republican base is their inveterate hatred for Hillary Clinton. Clinton would mobilize right-wing base voters the same way that hatred for Bush motivated Democrats in 2006. Why should we help galvanize the Republican base by nominating Hillary Clinton when we have another great choice?

All of these factors are born out in the consistent survey results that show Obama polls six to ten points better than Clinton against John McCain.

Clinton will have a difficult to impossible time winning the pledged delegate battle. Her only path to the nomination is convincing Super Delegates that she is the most electable. That dog won't hunt.

Robert Creamer is a long time political organizer and strategist and author of the new book Listen to Your Mother: Stand Up Straight. How Progressives Can Win. The book is available at Amazon.com.

Political emails fly fast, but are readers validating content?

Wesley Fryer — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 21:45:47 EST

Validating the accuracy and reliability of information we read online, both on the web and via email, is an essential literacy skill in the 21st century for adults as well as young people. An email I received this evening from someone in my family provides a dramatic case in point.

The email which was forwarded begins:

>
> This is fairly interesting...
>
> Who is Barack Obama?
>
> Probable U. S. presidential candidate, Barack
> Hussein Obama was born in
> Honolulu , Hawaii , to Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., a
> black MUSLIM from
> Nyangoma-Kogel , Kenya and Ann Dunham, a white
> ATHEIST from Wichita ,
> Kansas .

The message goes one to assert that Senator Obama's father is a "radical Muslim," and Obama is a Muslim himself. The focus of the message is to create fear about a possible Obama presidency and generate opposition to his candidacy among voters.

These allegations are serious. I would like to think everyone who receives an email like this will take the 15 seconds required to do a quick Snopes.com check to verify the information. The fact that this particular email, and others like them, are regularly forwarded along every day by well-meaning but poorly informed Internet users is distressing. I had a conversation with someone in my office just last week about Senator Obama's candidacy, and her comment was, "I'm pretty concerned over all that Muslim stuff." I am pretty sure email messages like this one planted the false seed of uncertainty which was the root of her "concerns."

A fast search on Snopes for "Who is Barack Obama" brings up a through explaination which reveals this email to be false and misleading. As usual, the Snopes.com authors go through the claims included in this email point by point and include an extensive list of referenced sources at the bottom of the article:

Why do many people persist in forwarding along emails like this one, which can be VERY quickly debunked? I do not know all the reasons, but I suspect there are several keys:

FEAR: Many people thrive on controversy and news which inspires or incites fear. Fear is a powerful motivator. When we allow ourselves to be directed by fear, rather than reason, we are naturally less able (physically) to make informed decisions and use logic. I think a primary reason people forward these types of messages rather than validating and debunking them is that they are AFRAID. Messages of FEAR often work. People get scared, and they are therefore malleable in the hands of the architects of the propaganda who wrote and disseminated the false, misleading, and fear-encouraging messages in the first place. Forwarding this message to other people is EXACTLY what the anti-Obama Presidency author of this fictitious email wants people to do. Those who allow themselves to directed by their fear play right into the hands of others who seek to manipulate and distort the truth to serve their own ends.
LAZINESS: It's easier to click the forward button and the send button rather than think critically. Critical thinking takes brain power. It takes energy. Many times, I think people (both young and old) tend to be lazy. Should I check out that claim with a quick trip to Snopes? Should I do a Google search on that message before I forward it to my entire address book? Of course you should. To fail in that requirement is to fall short in our obligations to support the dissemination of accurate and valid information. Sadly, laziness in thinking (or NOT thinking) is common in our society. This is not just true in many schools, it's true of lots of people who long ago left the classroom.
IGNORANCE: People don't know how to validate information properly. Issues of fear and laziness aside, this reason is possibly one of the most pressing that we, as educators, should take seriously. Are we teaching our students (and learning with our students) how to validate information properly and thoroughly? Have we considered ourselves instruments of a dishonest propaganda machine, if we thoughtlessly forward on emails like this one to others? I wrote the article "Digital Literacy NOW!" for the TechEdge in Septebmer 2003, but it is every bit as applicable today in 2008 as it was five years ago.

Who will carry forward this banner of media literacy, critical thinking, and our ongoing need to validate information where you live and work? If not you, then who? Who will tell your relatives? Who will tell your principal? Who will tell the senior citizens living in your community, who may be among the most susceptible to inflammatory and misleading emails like this one?

Media literacy is the responsibility of us all. Accept the banner, and carry it forward. Whether or not it's on your written lesson plan for today or tomorrow, it's an essential skill that simply can't wait till next year.

I have cross-posted this entry to my personal blog.

Technorati Tags:
literacy, obama, validate, information, reliable, snopes, propaganda, disinformation, mislead, politics

Fact Check

Rena — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 12:08:08 EST

I went canvassing in NH again last weekend, and again found somebody who said they liked Obama but was turned off by the hand over the heart smear email campaign. I wish I had found this first:

Barack Obama's Patriotism

Barack Obama's Religion

http://factcheck.barackobama.com/

Great post on Media Matters re: Myths and Falsehoods on Obama

Mike Sullivan — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 11:04:40 EDT

In recent months, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) has been the target of attacks, smears, and innuendo throughout the media. He has been called a Muslim who attended a madrassa and has heard his Christian church in Chicago accused of having a "separatist" doctrine that "contradicts the basic tenets of Christianity"; he has been accused of lying about issues he first addressed in 1995; the media have misrepresented or ignored his past statements to accuse him of dishonesty; he has fended off baseless accusations of scandals; and he has heard playground insults mocking his name and has even listened to media figures question his racial identity.