Insane in the Email Chain: Do you have relatives or friends who constantly forward rightwing propaganda?

If Archie Bunker existed in the Internet age, he'd be forwarding right-wing crazy nonstop.
Unfortunately, his modern day equivalents are doing him proud.

Do you have crazy rightist family members or friends? Are you the recipient of your uncle's or mom's weekly online chain email campaigns that accuse Obama of giving up our sovereignty to the UN or that he is secretly stealing our weapons and giving them to terrorists? I know I am, and bless their hearts: They don't know how to find a file that they downloaded, but they sure as hell know where the "Forward" button is in Outlook or Gmail. Here, then, is your one-stop resource for derailing the right-wing nutjob crazy train! It's called Viral Spiral at FactCheck.org and it takes apart the lies that pass for polemic on the right these days. Check it out Viral Spiral here.

Some embarrassing examples below. Good lord, no wonder we have to work twice as hard as the other guys...

Does the Obama administration intend to “force gun control and a complete ban on all weapons for U.S. citizens” through a United Nations treaty?

No. The administration plans to negotiate a treaty to regulate the international export and import of weapons. It says that it won’t support any treaty that regulates the domestic transfer or ownership of weapons, or that infringes on the Second Amendment.
June 27, 2012

Did President Obama secretly sign a law that makes it a crime to protest against him or ask him a question he doesn’t like?
No. He openly announced the signing of a bill overwhelmingly passed by Congress that slightly revises a 1971 law against trespassing into areas under Secret Service protection.
May 7, 2012


Is “Obama’s finance team” recommending a 1 percent tax on all bank transactions, as a chain e-mail claims?
No. This idea was first floated in 2004 by one House member, who says it would replace the federal income tax and eliminate the national debt. So far it has gone nowhere.
Sept. 8, 2010; Updated: June 5, 2012


Does Obama plan to deny emergency brain surgery for patients over 70?
No. A man claiming on a radio talk show to be a brain surgeon lied about that, and about a meeting of two associations of neurological surgeons, those associations say.
Jan. 5, 2012

Return fire! So, load up your copy and paste gun, and return email fire at your nutcase friends and relatives who, rather than do the "hard work" of actually reading details of policy and sorting innuendo from fact, prefer outrageous pre-fab claims to undermine the president.

~ Groobiecat

PS. The following fear-mongering nonsense landed in my inbox the other day and it occurred to me that someone--other than snopes.com--should do something about this. Turns out, someone has. Here's how it works: scare the shit out of older people that Obama is coming for 'em! The republican party blog actually stokes these flames, and you can check that here.

Something we were not aware of. Makes you wonder what else is buried in the "Health Care Bill"   <ATT00001.gif> Subject: Home Sales Tax When does your home become part of your health care? After 2012! Your vote counts big time in 2012, make sure you and all your friends and family know about this! Fred A. Mullis HOME SALES TAX  I thought you might find this interesting, -- maybe even SICKENING! The National Association of Realtors is all over this and working to get it repealed, -- before it takes effect. But, I am very pleased we aren't the only ones who know about this ploy to steal billions from unsuspecting homeowners. How many realtors do you think will vote Democratic in 2012? Did you know that if you sell your house after 2012 you will pay a 3.8% sales tax on it? That's $3,800 on a $100,000 home, etc. When did this happen? It's in the health care bill, -- and it goes into effect in 2013. Why 2013? Could it be so that it doesn't come to light until after the 2012 elections? So, this is change you can believe in? Under the new health care bill all real estate transactions will be subject to a 3.8% sales tax. If you sell a $400,000 home, there will be a $15,200 tax. This bill is set to screw the retiring generation, -- who often downsize their homes. Does this make your November, 2012 vote more important? Oh, you weren't aware that this was in the ObamaCare bill? Guess what; you aren't alone! There are more than a few members of Congress that weren't aware of it either. You can check this out for yourself at: http://www.gop.gov/blog/10/04/08/obamacare-flatlines-obamacare-taxes-home I hope you forward this to every single person in your address book. VOTERS NEED TO KNOW.

The truth about both knuckleheaded fear-mongering lies here:

Is the National Association of Realtors lobbying to repeal a 3.8 percent “sales tax” on homes before it takes effect in 2013?
No. There’s no such “sales tax” in the new health care law. And Medicare premiums aren’t going to $247 either. But these virulent falsehoods keep going around.
April 30, 2012

Does the new health care law impose a 3.8 percent tax on profits from selling your home?
No, with very few exceptions. The first $250,000 in profit from the sale of a personal residence won’t be taxed, or the first $500,000 in the case of a married couple. The tax falls on relatively few — those with high incomes from other sources.
April 22, 2010