Do Your Research

It never ceases to amaze me how gullible people are.

I can't tell you how many people I have met who are filled with misinformation about Senator Obama. "He refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance--he even said so in his book!" Yeah, that's what someone said to me over dinner after a soccer tournament last weekend. She told me she had actually read his book "Dreams From my Father" and that he had said he refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance.

Well, you know, I read that book and I don't ever remember him saying that in his book. Ever. I had a discussion with her about this and she was adamant. Then she mentioned some picture where he was standing with his hands at his side and everyone else had their hands over their hearts. Hmmm, sounded like she had received some email to me.

So I did a simple Google search, and of course, up comes a bunch of pages dispelling the rumor. The picture was NOT about the Pledge of Allegiance. It was taken at an event and it was during the National Anthem, and somehow someone spread an email rumor that Obama refused to put his hand over his heart during the Pledge, then that morphed into he refused to SAY the pledge, and it went viral. There was NEVER anything written in his book saying this, and he always puts his hand over his heart when he says the Pledge. And he DOES say the Pledge.

But why are people so willing to believe this garbage? Why don't they just do a Google search? Do they believe every email chain letter about every potential computer virus that comes their way and pass it on everyone in their address book? Are they that stupid? Or do they do their research to see if it's a hoax? And if so, then why not do the same thing when they receive this CRAP about Obama?

I truly think it is because they really want a reason not to vote for him, so if they hear something negative about him, they don't want to know the REAL TRUTH. So they don't bother to research it. They just pass on lies without doing research. Which to me is rather despicable.

I find it interesting that I have never received ONE negative email about Barack Obama. I never received the Muslim one, or the Pledge of Allegiance one. I guess people know better than to send me anything like that because I've been known to speak out when I've received any kind of email that smacks of intolerance. Thank goodness, less spam.

If you support Obama, or even if you're just open to seeing what Obama is about, then please don't just take any of these scurrilous rumors about Obama at face value. Do your research. Go to Google and type in a couple of keywords, like "obama pledge of allegiance" or "obama muslim" or whatever else you're concerned about. You'll find the answer you're looking for.

An Open Letter to Hillary Supporters

The primary season is now over. Senator Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee. It has been a long 17 months, but Obama has won fair and square. I know that many of you are very, very angry about this. But the fact of the matter is that this is a democracy, and the people have spoken.

Some of you are so angry that you have threatened to write in Hillary Clinton's name in November or to vote for John McCain. This really amazes me. How many of you have been lifelong Democrats? How many of you want our troops out of Iraq? How many of you are pro-choice? How many of you care about social justice? Or about universal health care? You do realize, don't you, that Clinton's stance on the issues are almost identical to Obama's? Is it more important for you to be angry? Or is it more important for you to have a country that starts heading in the right direction? Because with John McCain as president, our country surely will not be heading in the right direction.

John McCain has vowed to overturn Roe v Wade. He wants to keep troops in Iraq for 100 years. He is against universal health care. He is supported by lobbyists. I'm sorry to break the news to you, but your candidate will be coming out this Saturday to endorse Obama, and it's time you jumped on the bandwagon. We need a unified party in order to get the Republicans out of the White House, and your anger is not going to help. In fact, your anger will only hurt the party if you end up voting for McCain.

I was a huge Clinton supporter before Barack Obama came around. I truly think he was just the better candidate. This had nothing to do with sexism--as I would love to have a woman president. But Obama ran a truly spectacular campaign and he was a truly spectacular candidate. And Clinton made many, many mistakes in her campaign. This primary was hers to lose, and she lost it.

I hope you think long and hard and get over your anger before going to the voting booth in November.