Steamd

Funny story from Neil Gaiman and his attempt to buy a t-Mobile G1 Google phone. Neil should really consider looking at an iPhone.

So my mom receives this e-mail the other day with an outlandish claim that Barack Obama is a Muslim:

The Jihad Candidate
by Rich Carroll

Conspiracy theories make for interesting novels when the storyline is not so absurd that it can grasp our attention. ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ and ‘Seven Days in May’ are examples of plausible chains of events that captures the reader’s imagination at best-seller level. ‘What if’ has always been the solid grist of fiction.

Get yourself something cool to drink, find a relaxing position, but before you continue, visualize the television photos of two jet airliners smashing into the Twin Towers in lower Manhattan and remind yourself this cowardly act of Muslim terror was planned for eight years. How long did it take Islam and their oil money to find a candidate for President of the United States? As long as it took them to place a Senator from Illinois and Minnesota? The same amount of time to create a large Muslim enclave in Detroit? The time it took them to build over 2,000 mosques in America? The same amount of time required to place radical wahabbist clerics in our military and prisons as ‘chaplains’? Find a candidate who can get away with lying about their father being a ‘freedom fighter’ when he was actually part of the most corrupt and violent government in Kenya’s history. Find a candidate with close ties to The Nation of Islam and the violent Muslim overthrow in Africa, a candidate who is educated among white infidel Americans but hides his bitterness and anger behind a superficial toothy smile. Find a candidate who changes his American name of Barry to the Muslim name of Barack Hussein Obama, and dares anyone to question his true ties under the banner of ‘racism’. Nurture this candidate in an atmosphere of anti-white American teaching and surround him with Islamic teachers. Provide him with a bitter, racist, anti-white, anti-American wife, and supply him with Muslim middle east connections and Islamic monies. Allow him to be clever enough to get away with his anti-white rhetoric and proclaim he will give $834 billion taxpayer dollars to the Muslim controlled United Nations for use in Africa.

Install your candidate in an atmosphere of deception, because questioning him on any issue involving Africa or Islam would be seen as ‘bigoted racism’; two words too powerful to allow the citizenry to be informed of facts. Allow your candidate to employ several black racist Nation of Islam Louis Farrakhan followers as members of his Illinois Senatorial and campaign staffs.

Where is the bloodhound American ‘free press’ who doggedly overturned every stone in the Watergate case? Where are our nation’s reporters that have placed every Presidential candidate under the microscope of detailed scrutiny; the same press who pursue Bush’s ‘Skull and Bones’ club or ran other candidates off with persistent detective and research work? Why haven’t ‘newsmen’ pursued the 65 blatant lies told by this candidate during the Presidential primaries? Where are the stories about this candidate’s cousin and the Muslim butchery in Africa? Since when did our national press corps become weak, timid, and silent? Why haven’t they regaled us with the long list of socialists and communists who have surrounded this ‘out of nowhere’ Democrat candidate or the fact that his church re-printed the Hamas Manifesto in their bulletin, and that his ‘close pastor friend and mentor’ met with Middle East terrorist Muammar Qaddafi, (Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya)? Why isn’t the American press telling us this candidate is supported by every Muslim organization in the world?

As an ultimate slap in the face, be blatant in the fact your candidate has ZERO interest in traditional American values and has the most liberal voting record in U.S. Senate history. Why has the American mainstream media clammed up on any negative reporting on Barak Hussein Obama? Why will they print Hillary Rodham Clinton’s name but never write his middle name? Is it not his name? Why, suddenly, is ANY information about this candidate not coming from mainstream media, but from the blogosphere by citizens seeking facts and the truth? Why isn’t our media connecting the dots with Islam? Why do they focus on ‘those bad American soldiers’ while Islam slaughters non-Muslims daily in 44 countries around the globe? Why does our media refer to Darfur as ‘ethnic cleansing’ instead of what it really is: Muslims killing non-Muslims! There is enough strange, anti-American activity surrounding Barack Hussein Obama to pique the curiosity of any reporter. WHERE IS OUR INVESTIGATIVE MEDIA!?

A formal plan for targeting America was devised three years after the Iranian revolution in 1982. The plan was summarized in a 1991 memorandum by Mohammed Akram, an operative of the global Muslim Brotherhood. ‘The process of settlement’ of Muslims in America, Akram explained, ‘is a civilization jihad process.’ This means that members of the Brotherhood must understand that their work in ‘America is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and sabotaging its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and Allah’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.’

There is terrorism we can see, smell and fear, but there is a new kind of terror invading The United States in the form of Sharia law and finance. Condoning it is civilization suicide. Middle East Muslims are coming to America in record numbers and building hate infidel mosques, buying our corporations, suing us for our traditions, but they and the whole subject of Islam is white noise leaving uninformed Americans about who and what is really peaceful. Where is our investigative press? Any criticism of Islam or their intentions, even though Islamic leaders state their intentions daily around the globe, brings forth a volley of ‘racist’ from the left-wing Democrat crowd.

Lies and deception behind a master plan - the ingredients for ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ or the placement of an anti-American President in our nation’s White House? Is it mere coincidence that an anti-capitalist run for President at the same time Islamic Sharia finance and law is trying to make advancing strides into the United States? Is it mere coincidence this same candidate wants to disarm our nuclear capability at a time when terrorist Muslim nations are expanding their nuclear weapons capability? Is it mere coincidence this candidate wants to reduce our military at a time of global jihad from Muslim nations? Change for America? What change? To become another ‘nation of Islam’?

SOBERING THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
“When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President. Now I’m beginning to believe it.” (Clarence Darrow)

Pretty outlandish, isn’t it. So outlandish and such an outright lie that I felt that it bared a response to each and every person who received this e-mail in the chain. So here’s my response:

When I received this, I thought about simply just tossing it into my trash folder and calling it a day…which I probably should have done. But the problem I have with this is that so many people pass this stuff around and so may people actually believe it. As such, I’m doing the one thing that everyone should do when faced with something that is a lie: I’m telling you that it’s not true. There are multiple sources online, highly reputable sources that will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Barack Obama is not and never has been a Muslim.

This kind of writing is nothing more that the slinging of FUD: Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. The internet is a powerful thing and it’s so easy to fabricate things and convince people that it’s true. This sort of thing has been going on for ages even before the internet was around. The difference is that with just as many lies being thrown around there are even more sites that show the truth. They’re not hard to find. All it takes is a bit of searching.

So, is Barack Obama a Muslim? Let’s find out. I went to Google and typed in “barack obama muslim” as the keywords. Top two results are as follows:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp

http://isbarackobamamuslim.com/

That pretty much covers it. There are enough reputable sources in just those two links enough to debunk this obvious myth.

So the next time you see or hear anything that might seem outlandish or possibly false, do a search and find out the facts. Don’t ever assume that what anyone tells you is 100% true and based on fact. Learn the facts yourself before you attempt to draw any conclusions or opinions on it.

Also, the next time you see an e-mail like this or someone telling you something you know not to be true, call them on it. Write back or respond and tell them it’s not true and show them the facts. When it comes to politics, this is the only way we can truly have an unfiltered discussion: without the lies, without the exaggerations, without the FUD, and without rhetoric. Say what you want, believe what you want…but always, always, always keep the facts straight.

Thank you.

Jeff Whitfield

I figured I’d get some kind of response from someone…and but a day later I did:

I would not go so far as to state as fact that Mr. Obama is or isn’t a Muslim. I will state as fact that he possesses Communistic and Socialistic ideals. That is not acceptable! In addition, Google, one of the most liberal institutions in America, is NOT my reference of choice. But thank you anyway for feeling that you were duty-bound to englighten the rest of us.

What? Google is “one of the most liberal institutions in America”? Wow. That in itself definitely required a response:

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But those opinions need to be grounded in facts, not predicated on lies. Saying that Obama possesses communistic and socialistic ideals isn’t a fact…it’s yours and other people’s opinion. I’m not even going to attempt to try and sway you of that opinion because, frankly, that isn’t even my argument right now, nor am I attempting to “enlighten” anyone. This is just common sense I’m talking about here. Your perfectly entitled to your opinion and I will respect it. Just don’t try and pass off your opinion as a fact.

I’ve been a professional in the IT industry for almost 8 years now and a professional web developer for 4 years. I’ve had my thumb on the pulse of the internet industry for quite some time now. Knowing what’s going on in this industry is part of my job. That includes knowing a thing or two about the companies that make up this industry. So, when I hear someone saying that “Google [is] one of the most liberal institutions in America”, I’m sorry, I just have to respond.

There are many, many other companies that share similar philosophies to Google: Yahoo!, Apple, 37 Signals (www.37signals.com), Mozilla (of Firefox fame), Facebook, Flickr (owned by Yahoo!), YouTube (owned by Google), and many many others. To say that Google is liberal is to say that other companies that are remotely similar to Google are liberal as well. Problem is that Google is not a liberal company. Their philosophy and approach to the web is, in fact, highly conservative. How they treat their company might be one thing…but how they treat the internet is something entirely different.

Google’s mission statement is “Do no evil”. Google generates their revenue entirely off the sale of their search technology to other companies and online advertising on their site. I’m a big proponent on good software design. There’s a reason why Google has been successful…and it’s not because they are a liberal company, it’s because they create great products. Here’s some of the philosophies they follow with their products (http://www.google.com/intl/en/corporate/tenthings.html):

1. Focus on the user and all else will follow.
2. It’s best to do one thing really, really well.
3. Fast is better than slow.
4. Democracy on the web works.
5. You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.
6. You can make money without doing evil.
7. There’s always more information out there.
8. The need for information crosses all borders.
9. You can be serious without suit.
10. Great just isn’t good enough.

They’re also big proponents and contributors of open-source software and have one of the best development environments of just about any online software company. They promote innovation and creativity to the extreme, so much so that they have a company policy that encourages their developers to spend at least 25% of their time working on personal projects. Google is also about standards, something that web development and design is all about.

They also are firm believers in network neutrality (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality) and don’t believe that any network or ISP has the right to treat your internet connection like it was cable TV.

Google tries not to be conservative or liberal. Google just tries to be Google regardless of what political stance any of the company leaders take. So based on this, how exactly is it that Google is “one of the most liberal institutions in America”? If it’s because they are “outside-of-the-box” thinkers and their management is different from the norm then maybe they are “liberal”. But their philosophy on how good web applications should be designed and how the internet should run is far from being a liberal point of view. With Google, it’s all about Google as a “product”, not what political slant they appear to take. Google is more of a philosophy…not a political movement.

But I digress. I use Google’s products and find them to be some of the best the internet has to offer. But just because I like them doesn’t mean you will. You might prefer Yahoo! or another site. And just like your opinion, you’re entitled to use whatever products you feel are the best solutions for you. Who was it that said that “variety is the spice of life”? There is no one perfect solution for everyone when it comes to the products and services available to us. But to get political with something like Google…man, that’s a stretch.

And, wouldn’t you know it…another crazy response:

I think you just proved my point of view. You are, indeed, trying to “enlighten” the rest of us lower animals on the food chain. However, you need to check your facts. If BHO gets elected, America will have some real problems similar to Jimmy Carter’s failed Presidency. But I guess this discussion is over…we will cancel out eachother’s votes in November. THAT’S AMERICA!

My first thought: “This bitch is crazy!” I didn’t say anything about my political preference for Obama. All I said was that the initial e-mail was bullshit and that Obama wasn’t a Muslim. Well…one last shot to get through to this person’s head:

Umm…what facts? I never said anywhere in my e-mails that I was voting for Obama or that I supported him. All I said was that Obama wasn’t a Muslim and that Google is not a liberal company. One is a fact (Obama not being a Muslim) and the other is a matter of opinion (Google not being a liberal company). No facts were stated other than Obama not being a Muslim. So, really, what facts?

And “lower animals on the food chain”? Sorry, but I honestly believe that no one is better than anyone else. I’m no better than you, you’re no better than me. This is a country of equals…though sometimes it doesn’t always feel like that.

You’re obviously passionate about this, but some friendly advice: If you’re going to argue your point, back it up with examples. You can’t say things like “Obama has communistic and socialist ideals” or “Obama is the next Jimmy Carter” without saying why. That’s not much of a debate. I’m not saying your wrong…I’m just saying that there are no facts to back it up. I could say a lot of things about both candidates…but I’m not going to because this isn’t about that. So, again, where are the facts?

One other person did get pretty sick of these e-mails though and felt it best to attack me:

Who are you and what makes you think that you can send me an e-mail? I do not know you so you don’t have the right to fill up my inbox with an opinion piece. If you were so confident about your opinion, then you wouldn’t need to do this. Mr. Whitfield, please delete my address from your distribution list and while you’re at it go and peel off one of your mindless, numb bumper stickers from your clunker.

So I do the right thing and attempt to correct a lie and this guy thinks that I’m the one who sent the damn thing in the first place. Right. Smart thinking. Maybe this guy should be bitching at the person who sent the “Jihad Candidate” e-mail. Gee, you think? After all, spreading lies is no way to have an opinion.

Oh, and he sent these responses as well:

A rant like this could only mean one thing…small penis.

Real intelligent. Hell, it isn’t even that creative.

I’ve never seen someone so insecure in their belief system as you are Mr. Web Designer, give it a rest. NO MORE paranoid rants!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you and hopefully I won’t read a response.

Too late. Already sent a response to him.

Folks, this is the Lunatic Fringe at it’s finest, the gutters of the far right-wing Republican voting public. When they insist on lying or believing in the lies and you attempt to correct them they attack you. Back them into a corner and the best they can do is insult you and insist that you “get the facts”. Two things I can’t stand: ignorance and stupidity. The people who responded to my e-mails are both ignorant and stupid. I took the time to write a well thought out response to each e-mail and the best they can do is attack me and pass off their opinions as if they were fact.

Look, I don’t care whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat, whether you support Barack Obama or John McCain, but if you’re going to even have an opinion on something and/or debate with someone on politics, Google, or any other topic for that matter, make sure that it’s an educated opinion and that it’s not predicated on lies. That’s not fair to you or anyone else. You don’t have to be the most intelligent person to get an educated opinion. All it takes is the ability to listen and a bit of common sense.