Photo from source, AOL News
Today I was listening to The Randi Rhodes Show on Air America Radio, which was being guest hosted by Sam Seder while Randi's away. Sam loves to engage right-wing callers, listen to them tell their story (usually skillfully setting up their answers), and then he shoots down their arguments one by one. Sometimes this leads to the befuddlement of the caller, sometimes they concede that they were wrong, and sometimes, they act like Peggy.
Peggy was a caller from Ohio, who has bought, hook line and sinker, the entire boatload of lies, half-truths and innuendo about Barack Obama's heritage and patriotism. The amusing (and simultaneously scary) thing about Peggy was that while she believed it all, she had most of the stuff wrong. She had the wrong stuff wrong! She thought he was unpatriotic about the flag pin thing, said he "refused" to say the Pledge of Allegiance, and "refused" to put his hand over his heart. Peggy was so verklempt, she had a pit in her stomach, and actually thought Barack Obama was a covert agent of. . .wait for it. . .al-Qaeda!
The problem is, most of this stuff is partially wrong or flat-out wrong. Yes, Obama was at an event where he didn't put his hand on his heart during The National Anthem, NOT the Pledge of Allegiance. And he didn't "refuse," he just didn't do it, that one time. He doesn't wear a flag pin, but it's not out of anti-patriotism, and he's explained why, many times. Suffice it to say that in his mind, the cute little flag brooches are akin to bumper stickers or T-shirts, and I agree. There's much more, and all of it its mind-numbingly stupid.
The scariest part is that Peggy did not sound stupid. She sounded very uninformed, and was tragically gullible, but not necessarily stupid. So, my question is. . .how much of America is like Peggy?
Snopes.com, as I've mentioned in the past, is a go-to source for anything that might be a hoax or urban legend, and I highly recommend it in this case. Upon visiting today, I found out that among their thousands of catalogued stories, the Barack Obama hoaxes are #1 with a bullet. If you believe any of the crap floating out there (or your annoying friends/family do), go there now, and learn the truth:
[Excerpt]
Obama Fights False Links to Islam
The Democratic presidential front-runner and his campaign reacted strongly this week when a photo of him in Kenyan tribal garb began spreading on the Internet. And the praise he received Sunday from Minister Louis Farrakhan, leader of the black Muslim group Nation of Islam, prompted pointed questions during Tuesday night's presidential debate and in a private meeting over the weekend with Jewish leaders in Cleveland, Ohio. . .
Read more at: AOL News
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