Malicious rumors via e-mail

[Trent Lawless]

Okay, so I've gotten this e-mail in my inbox three times now (not from anyone on the board, thankfully), and I'm tired of telling people it's a hoax. So for those of you who get an e-mail headed "THIS IS A MUST READ" that deals with Barack Obama, do not forward it. IT IS A HOAX!

This is the text of it:

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 ATHIEST from Wichita, Kansas. Obama's parents met at the University of Hawaii.

When Obama was two years old, his parents divorced. His father returned to Kenya. His mother then married Lolo Soetoro, a RADICAL Muslim from Indonesia. When Obama was! 6 years old, the family relocated to Indonesia. Obama attended a MUSLIM school in Jakarta. He also spent two years in a Catholic school.

Obama takes great care to conceal the fact that he is a Muslim. He is quick to point out that, 'He was 'once a Muslim, but that he also attended Catholic school.' Obama's political handlers are attempting to make it appear that his introduction to Islam came via his father, and that this influence was temporary, at best. But,in reality, the senior Obama returned to Kenya soon after the divorce, and never again had any direct influence over his son's education. Lolo Soetoro, the second husband of Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, introduced his stepson to Islam. Obama was enrolled in a Wahabi school in Jakarta. Wahabism is the RADICAL teaching that is followed by the Muslim terrorists who are now waging Jihad against the western world.

Since it is politically expedient to be a CHRISTIAN when seeking major public office in the United States, Barack Hussein Obama has joined the United Church of Christ in an attempt to downplay his Muslim background. ALSO, keep in mind that when he was sworn into office he DID NOT use the Holy Bible, but instead the Koran. Let us all remain alert concerning Obama's expected presidential candidacy. The Muslims have said they plan on destroying the US from 'the inside out'. What better way to start than at the highest level - through the President of the United States being one of their own !!!!

Please forward this to everyone you know. Do you want this man leading our country?...... Very interesting and something that should be considered in your choice.

If you do not ever forward anything else, please forward this to all your contacts...this is very scary to think of what lies ahead of us here in our own United States...better heed this and pray about it and share it.

And then, you can go to www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp and read the truth about it all.

Please check the facts before clicking the forward button. Especially on anything dealing with an issue as important as electing a president.

Thank you. That is all the venting I'll do for one night.

[wildcat]

I don't really care, all I know is somebody named Hussein Obama shoudn't be President after all that's happened IMO.
Closed minded or not that's just the way I see it.

[Tournament Master]

wildcat said:

I don't really care, all I know is somebody named Hussein Obama shoudn't be President after all that's happened IMO.
Closed minded or not that's just the way I see it.

I personally would feel better with somebody named Obama as President than someone named Bush...but thats just me. ;D

[Trent Lawless]

wildcat said:

I don't really care, all I know is somebody named Hussein Obama shoudn't be President after all that's happened IMO.
Closed minded or not that's just the way I see it.

Okay, then, why aren't you cutting meat at the local grocery store?

I'm just sayin'....

[daytondave]

So who's propagating the rumor?

[Hyde]

So, because I'm too lazy to actually research all this, exactly how much truth is there in this e-mail? Is it all a lie, or a bunch of twisted truth?

[Trent Lawless]

daytondave said:

So who's propagating the rumor?

That's the problem with e-mailed rumors. There's virtually no way to track them back to any source. And that's why they're so effective. All you have to do is make up a bunch of stuff or take a nugget of truth and blow it way out of proportion by adding all kinds of inferences to it, send it to some like-minded contacts, asking them to forward it "in the name of our kids/country/pick your cause," and presto! You've just slandered somebody with no evidence to back it up!

There's a great (but long) article about these tactics at The Nation magazine's website: www.thenation.com/doc/20071112/hayes I know it's written from a left-wing perspective, but if there was someone on the left doing something like this also, I'd be all over it, too. I just have a silly dream that we can elect somebody based on facts and not unfounded fear.

And Hyde, the Snopes article pretty much explains that this e-mail takes just a couple of pertinent facts about Obama's parentage and very early childhood and explodes them into something utterly incorrect. But don't take my word for it. Read the article in the link at the start of the thread when you have a chance.

And also know that the latest tactic is to say somewhere in the e-mail: "This is TRUE according to Snopes!" Check it anyway. It's probably not confirmed there and they're just hoping you don't check.

[Pete]

Your best bet is to completely and totally disregard any mass-forwarded e-mail of this type, out of hand. No exceptions, ever, period, ifs/ands/buts/etc.

The few ones that are remotely true are very rarely packed with any information that's of any use other than to create an occasional, ephemeral warm fuzzy. The next major scandal uncovered by a forwarded e-mail will be the first.

[daytondave]

And then there's the view from the other side...

www.insight-report.com/2007/071211/washwatch.html

[Trent Lawless]

That's an interesting take on it, daytondave. It really wouldn't be surprising if a Clinton operative took it upon themselves to start this, or at least further it along.

I was looking on Snopes for false or questionable stories about current and recent Democratic and Republican presidential candidates. I found these, just as a sampling:

John Kerry:
Re telling Larry King he "didn't have time" for al Qaeda briefings (True): www.snopes.com/politics/kerry/briefing.asp
Re earning his service medals dishonestly (False): www.snopes.com/politics/kerry/service.asp

John Edwards:
Re him being a rude neighbor (False on that premise, at least) -- www.snopes.com/politics/kerry/neighbor.asp
Re a case he litigated resulting in a flu vaccine shortage (False) -- www.snopes.com/politics/business/flushot.asp

Hillary Clinton:
Re "Marxist" statements she made (False, because almost all were taken out of context) -- www.snopes.com/politics/clintons/marxist.asp

Re refusing to meet with "Gold Star Mothers" (False, and referenced in The Nation article cited a few posts back) -- www.snopes.com/politics/military/goldstar.asp

George W. Bush
Re refusing to sell his home to African-Americans (False) -- www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/bush.asp

Re Reagan calling him a "shiftless ne'er-do-well" (False) -- www.snopes.com/politics/satire/kinsley.asp

Mike Huckabee:
Re his son killing a dog, possibly maliciously or possibly as defense (True) -- www.snopes.com/politics/huckabee/dog.asp

I did notice that when you type in Democratic politicians names (at least those not overtly linked to scandal, like William Jefferson), you get a lot more hits than you do from Republican politicians (again, with the exception of the DeLays, Neys, and Cunninghams of the world). That kind of indicates to me that this is more likely a right-wing tactic than a left-wing one. I just wish neither did it.

[Pete Beck]

kinda off topic...

As i have stated before on this board...All (okay maybe not all, but definitely way more than not) politicians are in politics for themselves. The only reason they go through this is because they have to get our vote to get PAID. It is a Racket...the best racket out there.

Jesse Ventura said it best...Why would you spend millions of dollars on a campaign to get elected to a job that has an official pay and benefits which don't come close to the amount spent on getting the job, and why work so hard at getting a really bad job when it comes right down to it?

I know the drafters are rolling over and over in their graves when they see the travesty that has become our electoral process...and over again at the cons that are being elected.

[Splattercat]

Also Off topic: The Governor of California was recently quoted as saying:

"I love Thanksgiving turkey... it's the only time in Los Angeles that you see natural breasts."

;D