Fwd: E-mail Hoaxes, Urban Legends, & FPR's.

How many forwarded e-mails land in your inbox everyday? I get several from friends, family, co-workers, and from former schoolmates I hardly know. Some are cute and innocent. Some are in poor taste and I have to delete them without reading them. Many are forwarded as urgent warnings about some computer virus or the latest dangerous product from Wal-mart. Some are futile e-mail petitions for such-and-such a cause. Yet others are promises of getting Bill Gates' money simply by forwarding this e-mail to as many gullible friends and family members as you can. Above all, my favorite are the Faith Promoting Rumors (FPR's).

It must be part of human nature that we so readily believe whatever e-mail we read. I derive a bit of pleasure debunking most of these e-mail myths by going to www.snopes.com or other websites and copying the link into the reply e-mail. I spitefully include all the e-mail addresses displayed in the all the previous forwards so that I can inform all the ignorant forwarders of the error of their ways. Sometimes I include commentary meant to humiliate when I really want the point to sink in.

Some people now regard me as a spoil-sport and a party-pooper for rebutting the lies they are trying to perpetuate on me. Even my dear old grandmother won't forward anything to me anymore. I suppose that it is more fun to believe certain things, whether they are true or not. Yet some people have come to rely on me to confirm the validity of e-mails in their inboxes. I get e-mails all the time asking "Robert, is this really true? Please tell me before I embarrass myself by forwarding it to the masses." Ahh...it does feel good to be something of a fountain of truth!

The reason FPR's are my favorite is because they are the most important ones for me to expose as the shams that they so often are. Well-intentioned exaggerations meant to fortify the faithful...Sorry folks, the good Lord doesn't work like that. True faith increasing experiences are required to be TRUE.

When I reply to these FPR's and show their false natures, I think it hurts the senders more deeply, as if I am impugning their integrity as a christian. I don't intend to challenge their honesty, but I do challenge their gullibility and hope that they will use more care before ignorantly forwarding a falsehood. If they claim to be seekers of truth, they should not be so apt to accept artificialities.

For all of you that I have offended by my lack of tact in my e-mail replies, I beg your forgiveness. Keep those forwards coming!!! (otherwise I'll run out of myths to debunk)

The Dang Port Issue!

At first glance, this just seems like a bad deal. Most media is just giving this issue a superficial scare-the-common man treatment. The conservative media is simply defending my man W. Some conservatives are questioning our beloved leader. The crazy leadership of the left just spouts off at the mouth and nobody is listening.

Through all this tumult of words and opinions, what is a common boy like myself to believe?

Tony Snow on his radio show is the only level headed person I have heard address the topic. He is having interviews with people intimately involved with the ports and with national security.

I'm still withholding my judgement, but I recommend the Tony Snow show if you want to hear a reasoable discussion of the issue.

Kids - Do they know right from wrong?

This is Anne. This is Anne stuck in the spoiler of her daddy's new-used Honda Civic. There is the soap her daddy used to lubricate Anne's thighs and knees to slip her out of the spoiler. Kyle and Anne and their little friends covered the freshly-washed car with dirt from the flower pot and walked all over the hood, top, and trunk of the car. Anne learned the consequences of wrong choices by getting stuck while Kyle hid behind the neighbors car. Kyle and Anne both learned restitution by helping Daddy wash the car. Kyle and Anne are banned from their little friends for the week. Daddy used his angry voice a lot, but still had his wits about him enough to find the humor in the situation and take a picture. Kyle and Anne used to think washing cars and playing in the water was fun, but not when Daddy has his angry voice. Daddy has to learn that little boys and girls do not yet have fully developed reasoning to know right from wrong. They do not understand consequences for their choices. Today they learned that some choices lead to angry daddies and manual labor. Daddy hopes that tender young minds retain lessons learned. Kyle and Anne still love their Daddy inspite of his angry voice.

Happy President's Day

Honoring our nation's presidents is a day worthy of a holiday. Most of our presidents have been honorable men, and today I honor all the good that they have done for our country and for the world.

I am especially grateful today for the founding presidents of our country. They were men of integrity and principle, true statemen. I am grateful for our current president, George W. Bush, who knows the difference between good and evil.

May God continue to bless and sustain our presidents so that we can endure through the trials the world in which we live and hold fast to constituition which our presidents have sworn to uphold!

The U.N. - United or Useless Nations?

I look at the UN as an international feel-good group masking a venue for power-mongers to publicly smile for humanity as they grind the faces of the poor for their own gain.

Most of the countries in the world were not founded on the principles of "good" as was the United States of America. So, when we attempt to remain in good standing with that international fraternity, we have to compromise our principles of true freedom. Our country was established on the principles for freedom of religion, so that all its citizenry could worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience. Most other countries were founded for other reasons, such as power and riches through conquest.

European public opinion polls about the United States don't mean a thing to me, but for a lot of people, including my own AZ Senator John McCain, they do. Mother's advise is best for this very situation: "If all your friends were going to run and jump off a cliff, would you go to?"

This month's Imprimis pretty much sums up my thoughts about the UN. Check it out: http://www.hillsdale.edu/imprimis/

Yes, David, this is a little "ethnocentric". When our constitution is compromised in order to kowtow to world opinion, especially that of corrupt UN officials, then ethnocentric or not, right is right and wrong is wrong.


I think the fundamental problem here is that the USA does not have an example to look up to. No other government in history has the same roots as ours. No other constitution was formed by generally honest, good and upright, God-fearing men. We can look back on history and see where governments failed and learn for that. But instead of running in the opposite way, we hasten in the direction of downfall.

The United States of America will not remain a great nation in the eyes of God and man if we let international opinion tell us what we know is right and wrong. The United States of America can remain an ensign to all nations as we hold fast and stalwart to our founding principles.

John Stossel's Myths, Lies & Nasty Behavior

John Stossel, you are the man! You hit the nail on the head every time. I don't know how you survive in the world of media that espouses dogma so contrary to your witty reporting, but keep it up. In the spirit of 'fairness', your exposés should be required daily viewing in all public schools and universities to provide counterpoints to the indoctrination of our children.

Hey everyone! You've got to check out John's report from last night's 20/20. It was fantastic!

Here's the link:
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=448934&page=1

Cartoons v. Mobocracy

All right! I can’t hold back any longer…I’ve got to weigh in on this one! Sure the Mohammad cartoons were disrespectful of a religious icon. I too would be greatly saddened to see such a portrayal of my Savior. This mob reaction to the cartoons is simply unjustifiable. Attacking people, buildings, and other governments for the actions of one cartoon artist in Denmark is hardly a balanced response.

These violent protests are not just righteous indignations about dumb cartoons, but they are outward demonstrations of an inward evil. Hatred for Jews and Christians has been passed from generation to generation in these Islamic countries. Hatred and violence is often endorsed by their government and hypocritically by their religion. These people are violating the precepts of their own religion.

Brigham Young once postulated:

“He who takes offense when no offense was intended is a fool. And he who takes offense when offense was intended is usually a fool.”

The Danish cartoon artist is a fool for what he did, but the Muslim mobocrats are the greater fools!

Please check out "Big Morty Says"

Big Morty is none other than my little brother. He is so weird! His writting is witty and hilarious. I hope he will publish some of his work on his blog. His blog is sure to be entertaining! I take full credit for his derranged sense of humor, due to the poundings that I gave him in our younger days. Here is the link...check it out: http://www.bigmorty.blogspot.com/

I've also added the link to my list of favorites sites on the right hand column.

Are certain principles greater than life itself?

Recently I have been pondering about the opinions of those people who wish to withdraw the US troops from Iraq. They always reference the number of deaths of our young men and women. They say that we are fighting for a lie perpetrated on the American people by the evil George W. Bush and his oil-loving buddies. I must confess that in the days leading up to our attacks on Iraq, the whole debate seemed centered around WMD's, which turned out to be poor intelligence. I believe Saddam at one time had WMD's, but too bad more focus was not made on Saddam Hussein's crimes against humanity. That Hitleresque style of leadership is reason enough for me to justify taking out Saddam's regime. Iraq is better off today than it was under Saddam. The Iraqi people are free! Isn't freedom a principle that is greater than life itself?

Mel Gibson Braveheart (1995) addressed the point powerfully:

William Wallace: ...I see a whole army of my country men, here in defiance of tyranny. You've come to fight as freemen, and freemen you are. What will you do without freedom?! Will you fight?

Man: No . . . we will run . . . and we will live.

William Wallace: Aye. Fight and you may die. Run and you'll live, at least a while. And, dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance -- just one chance -- to come back here and tell our enemies, that they may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!


Human life is extremely valuable. Sure, each newborn child has the potential to find the cure to cancer. Do we need to care for the sick and needy and relieve the suffering of others? Obviously, yes. But perhaps I value mortality less than others do because of my religious perspective. Our souls did not begin, nor will they end with this life. Perhaps because of that eternal view, I find great value in the sacrifice of one's life for principles that are greater than life itself. Freedom from evil, like Saddam Hussein and terrorists, is worth all of our lives.

If every last freedom-loving person were to give his or her life in the defense of freedom and the only remaining mortals on earth were terrorists, our sacrifice would have been worth it!!!

The freedom to be found beyond this life will be far greater for those of us who fought on the side of righteousness.