Last Sane Man Standing - Blog of Corey Deitz

"Googling a Clue"

February 13, 2008

Erroneous information about Barack Obama has been emailed to me in the past and recently, some listeners have repeated this crap on the phones. I'm tired of hearing this. Just today, another email arrived from a listener and it pushed me over the edge. I felt forced to defend this guy AND I'M A REPUBLICAN! I'm not going to vote for him - never would - but it's sad when people will SMEAR YOU just because they don't like your skin color or politics.

So, I did my own research to verify what I already understood as the truth.

I have copied portions of the email below, bolded them out, and followed them with the real facts as reported and published along with the sources.

"i just wanted to state a few facts that i have either heard or read on fox new or the glenn beck program (both reputible...not just email!! haha) in regards to Obama

---his religion... it is a fact that he did go to a muslim school as a child. but, he also did have education here in the us. he claims he is not muslim anymore, but the website to his current church is a black only church."

Let's work backwards: If you go to Obama's church's website, it says: "We are a congregation which is Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian..."

David Emery, the Urban Legends Guide at About.com writes: "It is not true, however, that one must be black in order to attend. TUCC is located in a predominantly African American neighborhood in Chicago's South Side and most of its parishioners are black, but there is no racial litmus test for joining. As Christian Post columnist Martin E. Marty observed in April 2007, 'being "unashamedly black" does not mean being "anti-white." My wife and I on occasion attend, and, like all other non-blacks, are enthusiastically welcomed.'"

On the Muslim issue:

Wikipedia.com says: "Obama attended local schools in Jakarta from ages 6 to 10, where classes were taught in Indonesian"

"He then returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents while attending Punahou School from the fifth grade until his graduation in 1979..."

"A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School."

Snopes.com: “no evidence supports a claim that Obama is currently, or ever has been, a Muslim (radical or otherwise)”

“The school Barack Obama attended in Indonesia was “Muslim” primarily in the sense that the preponderance of its student body was Muslim (because Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim country), but both the Muslim and Catholic schools he attended in Indonesia offered a few hours of religious instruction each week.”

Associated Press at MSNBC says: “A spokeman for Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs said claims that Obama studied at an Islamic school are groundless.”

---just 2 years ago when he was sworn into office, he swore under the koran, not the bible. the koran- the muslim equal to the bible.

Factcheck.org - “Obama did not place his hand on the Koran when he was sworn into the U.S. Senate. This claim confuses Obama with the first and only Muslim member of Congress, Democratic House member Keith Ellison of Minnesota. Obama was sworn in using his own Bible, as widely reported in newspaper accounts and pictured above. That's his wife holding the Bible with Vice President Dick Cheney swearing him in. (Under the Constitution, the vice president serves as president of the Senate.)

Politifact.com: “press reports from Obama's swearing-in ceremony in January 2005 mention specifically that Obama took the oath of office by placing his hand on his own copy of the Bible.”

---he has been seen and photographed numerous time refusing to place his hand over his heart for the pledge of allegiance. he has also been seen sitting while the pledge was being recited, he also will not recite the pledge of allegiance. and he wants to be president of the united states!

Snopes.com: Don't confuse the National Anthem with the Pledge of Allegiance. Obama has actually been photographed both ways during the National Anthem: not putting his hand over his heart and at times putting his hand over his heart. But, he does recite the Pledge of Allegiance. It’s documented during Senate sessions. You can see videos of it here.

All of these references I have cited can be duplicated by other sources. If you want a to read some facts about Barack Obama, check out this article by The Washington Post:

Foes Use Obama's Muslim Ties to Fuel Rumors About Him

Personally, I think it's real sad that so many people are so willing to believe anything someone emails them or repeats - especially when the power to know the truth is as close as your mouse. Either way, I'm still voting Republican but it's a shame I'm the one who has to defend the guy.