I'm a fact-checkin' mama!

A quiet, rainy day. We were in a moderate drought for a while, but we should be getting back to where we're supposed to be. I would imagine that we'll be getting more rain next week, when we experience the after-effects of Ike. This looks like a nasty one, and I hope that everyone is either out of harm's way, or hunkered down like Miss Ginger! Looks to me like she knows how to ride out the storm in style!

 

I hadn't talked to my folks for over a week, so we got caught up today. Talk didn't turn to politics until Dad asked me, "I have to ask...what do you think of Palin?" I paused. I said, "Do you REALLY want to know?" He laughed, and I think MY question probably answered HIS question! We did get into a bit of a discussion, and one exchange went like this:

 

Dad: They call her a gun-totin' mama. A lot of this, for me, is about the Second Amendment.

 

Me: Personally, I'm pretty fond of the FIRST Amendment.

 

Dad: [laughs] Yeah, that's true...that's one of the reasons we can have this conversation!

 

As I've said in the past, we've always had discussions like this, and Dad knows how riled up I can get! Ha ha! It's obvious that we're not going to change each other's minds, but one thing he mentioned made me say something very adamantly. He talked about something that he'd gotten in a forwarded email. I told him that he shouldn't trust any of those forwards, and to PLEASE check the veracity of the claims contained therein.

 

It's been my experience that most of these forwards are either outright lies or so  distorted that they become lies. And that goes for both sides, although I think it's obvious that the ones about Obama have been more numerous this time around. (How many times do we have to say it? The man is not of the Muslim faith.) I made Mom and Dad's late lunch a little later while I asked him to write down the address of the FactCheck site. It is a nonpartisan site that investigates claims and ads by both sides. (If you see a few more McCain ads debunked than Obama ads, it's only logical...the McCain ads have been much more dubious and misleading in the past couple of weeks.) Another good resource is Snopes. I asked Dad that if he gets these forwards, to please check on the truth--or lies--behind them, and I hope everyone will do the same.

 

I'm also confused by things I read that decry the "American Media." Where are these people getting their information? The Pravda web site? Der Spiegel? While there may be some fine reporting going on there, and I realize that the world is very interested in this election, I don't understand the disdain for the American media. It's obvious that certain channels, printed media, and news-people have their biases, but you have to take that into account. Sometimes you have to do a little digging to find it, but...the truth is out there.

 

Dan over at Slapinions put up a widget on his sidebar about the electoral votes. I'd been looking for one, and while I chose a different one (you'll see why, Dan <grin>), I appreciate his help in finding it!

 

 

 

 

 

Tags: Hurricane Ike, FactCheck, Snopes