Halloween Horrors: Razor Blade found in Candy in Reynoldsburg, Ohio (My Town)

Since I was little, back in the 70s (and for a long time before), there have been stories about tainted Halloween treats. Well-meaning neighbors would make caramel apples, popcorn balls and other homemade treats, only to have parents chuck them in the garbage, in the unlikely event that they contained needles, poisons, razor blades or other potentially  lethal items.

Everyone heard stories, but no one believed them. Parents would rifle through our candy sacks (usually a pillowcase), in the name of finding tears or needle pricks in the wrappers, but really just to steal the best chocolate. The rare occasions when there would be an actual case of tainted goodies would invariably turn out to be a hoax or a prank, either by a kid or a parent looking to scare people or garner attention. If you check out Snopes.com, they back me up on this.

But, especially after the Tylenol scare in the early 1980s, communities started changing Halloween. They'd have X-ray machines to run candy through, they'd hold mass indoor events instead of allowing trick-or-treating, they'd hold "trunk or treat" events, where kids got candy out of the backs of people's cars (and my, my, folks, doesn't that sound like a perfectly idiotic idea to teach kids?). A lot of over-the-top "safety" over a handful of mostly urban legends and hoaxes.

Well, last night it happened not only in the state of Ohio--where I recently returned after 20 years in Las Vegas--but right down the street from me. Seriously, we walk the area almost daily. It's a legit case, insofar as the Reynoldsburg police are treating it seriously, and there are actual photos of the Snickers bar with what looks like the razor blade from a disposable safety razor inside. But, I smell a rat. There was one piece of tainted candy found, period. That doesn't sound like a crazed lunatic trying to hurt people to me. It sounds like almost every other case like this, like a hoax or a prank gone too far. I'd lay money on it.

For the record: yes, central Ohio has "Beggars Nights," on various dates ahead of Halloween, a tradition dating back to the 1950s (with several origin theories). And no, I didn't pass out Snickers bars from my house, only Kit-Kats and Twix. Honest!

[Excerpt]

Reynoldsburg police: Razor blade found in Halloween candy

Reynoldsburg police are asking parents of children who trick-or-treated in the suburb to check all candy tonight, after a razor blade was found in a candy bar. Lt. Shane Mauger said police have no reason to believe the situation was a hoax. He said that the razor blade was in a Snickers bar. . .
Read more at: Columbus Dispatch

What's the 411 on 420?

Image from source, Huffington Post

Yes, I realize I'm a couple of days late with the 420 story, being that it is now 4/22. But whattayagonnado? As a signmaker, I was first made aware of the "420" business when we started to notice that we had to make--and remake, and make again--room number plaques in hotels with that number.

There were a whole lot of guesses as to what it means. Former and current stoners will insist that they know what it means. But most of them are wrong. The irony of the origins of this phenomenon is that while kids of today use the code as though they're getting one over on the older generation, the whole thing started with their parent's age group!

Anyway, in case you didn't already know. . .

[Excerpt]

What 420 Means: The True Story Behind Stoners' Favorite Number

. . .Depending on who you ask, or their state of inebriation, there are as many varieties of answers as strains of medical bud in California. It's the number of active chemicals in marijuana. It's teatime in Holland. It has something to do with Hitler's birthday. It's those numbers in that Bob Dylan song multiplied. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Rovian Alternate Reality Breaking Down: Bachman

This example of "creating our own reality" by a Republican is notable for a couple of reasons. Michelle Bachman, Congresswoman from Minnesota, stuck her foot in her mouth on Hardball with Chris Matthews, by calling for a McCarthyesque "Anti-American" investigation into Congress. She was on tape, plain as day. And yet, on the FOX "News" program Hannity & Colmes (their one so-called "balanced" program), there she is, saying it never happened, it was an "urban legend." Them's some big brass ones y'got there, Michelle!

This latest attempt at re-writing history has utterly failed. Nobody believes her. And that is something of a victory, a--dare I say it?--change we can believe in! For the last eight years, we liberals have been stupefied by the constant stream of "reality creating" spearheaded by Karl Rove. We'd hear the President (or Dick Cheney, or Donald Rumsfeld, et. al) say something on Monday, say he didn't say that on Wednesday, and have Wednesday's proclamation become accepted fact on the Sunday morning shows.



Occasionally, they would get busted. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart or Countdown with Keith Olbermann would show two clips side-by-side, contradicting the obfuscation. And once again, liberals would sit slack-jawed, with proof positive that they were right, and yet the general public just wasn't seeing it. Thankfully, those days seem to be ending. Dare we hope that Karl Rove's political machine is really, most completely dead? That it's so rusty and broken that it can't be rebuilt, or given replacement parts? Nah, I'm sure they are hastily building a new one, though they may have to start from scratch. Let's just hope people aren't so gullible from now on.

Andy Martin, Obama Rumor Starter

Photo from source, New York Times

You never know what's going to gum up an election. It can be a dame in your lap on a boat (Donna Rice/Gary Hart), it can be an over-amplified scream (Howard Dean), or just a silly photo in a tank (Michael Dukakis). But sometimes, great strain can be put on a campaign by things that never happened, just on the strength of rumor, innuendo, paranoia and fantasy.

Barack Obama's campaign has not been thwarted--at least not yet--by the urban legends and rumors, but it sure didn't help. People have been asking, "why can't Obama seal the deal?" Well, it isn't much of a stretch to say that when at least 15% of the population believes these lies, a 4 - 11% lead is pretty damned good.

Now we know who started those rumors, and we also know a lot more about him. Andy Martin is a very interesting character, there is no doubt. He's a nutjob, but he's interesting. And he very well could have--still might have--affected a United States Presidential election with his paranoid ravings.

More interesting than that to me, is that it was an appearance on the horrible FOX "News" program, Hannity's America that brought Martin into the light. Sean Hannity, who has fed his own paranoid rantings seemingly directly to the John McCain campaign, has probably done more damage to Obama's campaign than even Martin did. Maybe this story will undo them both.

[Excerpt]

The Man Behind the Whispers About Obama

The most persistent falsehood about Senator Barack Obama’s background first hit in 2004 just two weeks after the Democratic convention speech that helped set him on the path to his presidential candidacy: “Obama is a Muslim who has concealed his religion.”

That statement, contained in a press release, spun a complex tale about the ancestry of Mr. Obama, who is Christian. . .

Read more at: New York Times

Dueling Urban Legends: Obama vs. McCain

Image from MJMGroup

Today, one of my coworkers--a nice girl with no particular interest in politics--received one of those Barack Obama "warning" emails. You know the ones, listing supposed things about Obama that the authors are concerned about. Trouble is, the points listed are either lies, half-truths, or at minimum deliberately misleading.

A quick perusal of Snopes.com, the leading urban legend debunking site, brings up many of these anti-Obama screeds. In fact, in their "hottest 25 legends," Obama comes up #1 with a bullet. Of the thirty or so Obama legends discussed there, only two are listed as true, and those have elements that distort the facts. The wingnuts who write these emails are so pervasive, Barack Obama himself has felt it necessary to create his own site, Fight the Smears, just to fight them.

I got to wondering, does John McCain have to worry about this stuff? So, I checked out Snopes.

It turns out, there are only four items on Snopes about McCain at the site, one untrue, one true and two undetermined. The untrue one is an false quote about his behavior during the war. But what I didn't find was long, bullet-pointed diatribes against McCain. I got nothing attacking his patriotism, nothing questioning his religion.

So, why the difference? It isn't as though McCain is beyond reproach. The difference seems to be that negative things said about McCain are most often true, and spoken out in the open, not in scurrilous, anonymous "concerned" emails. Could it be that liberals are less prone to sliming opponents with lies and distortions? Could it be that the truth is a more effective--or at least more honorable--weapon than lies? I guess we'll find out in November.

What You Must Believe to be a Republican (or PUMA)

Randi Rhodes, host of her own radio show on the Nova M Network often runs a comedy bit at the beginning of a new hour called, "How to be a GOOD Republican." It also sometimes has a title (paraphrasing here) like "What You Must Believe to be a Republican."

It just occurred to me that if all the faux outrage and stupid (stupid, stupid, stupid) emails that were floating around were genuinely believed by the candidates and voters, you'd almost have to believe that Barack Obama, his wife and Democrats in general, were evil incarnate. We know that they mostly don't believe this stuff, they just use it for political purposes.

But I thought it might be interesting to list a few things that they claim to believe, Let's see, you'd have to believe that:

• Barack Obama is a crazy Christian.


• Barack Obama is a covert Muslim too.


• Barack Obama switched bodies with Keith Ellison, and was sworn into the Senate on the Koran.


• Barack Obama hates the troops.


• Barack Obama hates America.


• Barack Obama probably hates the baby Jesus.


• Michelle Obama hates America. We're allowed to attack her mercilessly for a few ill-chosen words.


• Barack Obama doesn't qualify for President, since he was born in Hawaii to a Citizen.


• Barack Obama is scary because he's too young at 46.


• Barack Obama's popularity around the world is a bad thing.


• Barack Obama's middle name is "Hussein" like Saddam, and his last name sounds like "Osama." This make him a bad man, unfit to be President.


• Barack Obama knows some people who turned out to be bad guys. Ipso facto, Obama is bad too.


• Barack Obama has changed his position on some issues. he's a flip-flopper.

Then, you have to believe this:

• John McCain is a straight talker on religion. Even if he's claimed to be both Baptist and Episcopalian.


• John McCain loves the troops so much, he was against the GI Bill.


• John McCain--who has said he didn't love America until he came back from Viet Nam--loves America.


• Cindy McCain has had a few scandals in her day, but she's off limits. Leave her alone.


• John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone, outside America. Do NOT question his citizenship. It's not like it was Hawaii.


• It would be wrong to point out that John McCain is 72. And an old 72. So what?


• It would be inappropriate to refer to "J. Sidney McCain," but "B. Hussein Obama" is acceptable.


• John McCain was one of the Keating Five, and had lots of shifty acquaintances over the years. So?


• John McCain has changed his positions as conditions changed "on the ground." This is different from flip-flopping. Somehow.

And most importantly:

• Emails with the tag-line, "Send this to everyone you know!" are to be believed as 100% true, as long as they are about a Democrat. Or a virus that will eat your hard drive.

Do yourself a favor if anything here feels true to you. Go to Snopes.com, and read for yourself why everything you know is wrong! Thankyouverymuch.

Where Did the Barack Obama Urban Legends Start?

Shocking image from Big Dan's Big Blog

There are so many ridiculous Barack Obama falsehoods out there, that a quick check of Snopes.com shows them to be #1 with a bullet in their top 25 urban legends. These legends usually begin in hokey emails with a very "concerned" title, and a list of dire warnings about Obama. They usually close with send this to everyone you know! And people who believe them have either just gotten their very first computer, or they have the reasoning capability of a bag of hair.

Is that harsh? Good. Because I can't count how many times I've had to sling a Snopes link back to a "concerned" acquaintance about any number of topics over the last 10 years. Why do people believe anything that comes to them this way? Do your homework, people!

That said, did you ever wonder where these things get started? The following excerpt is from an article that tries to track down the origins of the Obama legends. Check it out.

[Excerpt]

An Attack That Came Out of the Ether

The e-mail landed in Danielle Allen's queue one winter morning as she was studying in her office at the Institute for Advanced Study, the renowned haven for some of the nation's most brilliant minds. The missive began: "THIS DEFINITELY WARRANTS LOOKING INTO. . ."

Read more at: Washington Post

Barack Obama's Rumor Fighting Site

Photo from source, Radar Online

I already commented on the new site the Barack Obama campaign has launched to swat down those pesky internet rumors. But my attempts to explain the lameness of those rumors wasn't nearly as good as Radar Online. This is great.

[Excerpt]

Obama Uses Internet To Fight Internet

Do you know that Barack Obama is a Muslim terrorist who was born in a foreign country and that his wife Michelle hates white people? If you're a paranoid crank who never developed critical thinking skills, you probably do. . .

Read more at: Radar Online

And see Obama's new website at: FightTheSmears.com

Barack Obama Fights Back on Smear Tactics

Some of the urban legends brewing out there about Barack Obama are truly stupid, but we Americans are apparently extremely gullible. Why anyone would take outrageous claims made in chain emails to be worth a tinker's dam, I have no idea. They're almost always pranks, hoaxes or outright lies. Check Snopes.com, people!

But now in addition to that invaluable resource, Obama's campaign has created a new website, specifically to combat the rumor mill. And good for him.

[Excerpt]

Obama Tries to 'Fight the Smears'


Barack Obama's campaign revealed a Web site this morning entitled "Fight the Smears" -- aimed at, you guessed it -- beating back misinformation, half truths or downright lies being spread about the Democratic nominee via television, the Web, radio and, most pervasively, e-mail. . .

Read more at: The Fix

And see Obama's new website at: FightTheSmears.com

Bushisms: Make the Pie Higher!

I get a lot of emails from "concerned" friends and family, seeking to expose the Muslim-ness of Barack Obama, or what stupid thing Hillary Clinton said or did. You probably get 'em too. With the help of Snopes.com, I've debunked a lot of those (to the consternation of the sender), even here on the blog.

So imagine my delight with finding an "urban legend" type email to be true! Nearly 100% verifiably true--far closer, at least than any of the other ones I've seen. It's an moldy oldie, but it's also a goody. Remember, this was written in 2002, when George W. Bush's public persona was far newer--and a great deal more popular. Someone got the idea to assemble a batch of Bushisms into a poem, each line being an actual utterance--with only slight alteration--from The Decider his self [sic, intentionally]. Check it out (click to enlarge).




Source: Snopes.com

That Stupid Obama Email Hoax

Photo from BarackObama.com

There's an email floating around the internets lately, giving dire warnings about Presidential candidate, Barack Obama. The letter alleges that either a) Barack Obama is a "Trojan horse" Muslim in Christian clothing, ready to usurp our "Christian Nation" to evil Muslim ends; or b) Barack Obama used to be a Muslim, and since he isn't anymore, all the Muslims from all the world will be ordered to kill him. The contradictory elements of the "warning" should be a tip-off to the hoaxy nature of the email.

Now that we're about 15 years into the Internet era, I didn't believe rational, intelligent Americans still believed any of these silly email chain letters. But this one is getting traction, and I just don't understand it. Doesn't anybody besides me check with Snopes.com?

If you got this letter and believed it, or if anyone you know has, send them the link to this page at Snopes.

[Excerpt from phony email]

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.

Who is Barack Obama?

Probable U.S. presidential candidate Barack Hussein Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawai, to Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., a black MUSLIM from Nyangoma-Kogel, Kenya and Ann Dunham, a white ATHEIST from Wichita, Kansas. Obama's parents met at the University of Hawaii. . .

[Excerpt from Snopes.com]

Claim: Illinois Senator Barack Obama is a "radical Muslim" who "will not recite the Pledge of Allegiance."

Status: False.

Read more at: Snopes.com