Debunking chain e-mail

Politifact "Our in-box has gotten so many requests lately, we decided to check several in one go. Here are four facts from e-mails our readers asked us to check. Here's what we found; read the individual reports for our complete reasoning and a full source list:"...You may want to bookmark this site to use on future chain e-mails. Visit the Politifact homepage Here .  Hat tip to Neal Boortz.

Beyond Bigotry

Townhall "Israel is at war and were Israel to be defeated much of the world would not shed wet tears. What would happen after such a defeat? No one can seriously doubt that Hamas has genocidal intentions. Abdallah Jarbu, Hamas' Deputy Minister of Religion, recently asserted that Jews "want to present themselves to the world as if they have rights, but, in fact, they are foreign bacteria -- a microbe unparalleled in the world." Jarbu then offered this prayer: "May He annihilate this filthy people who have neither religion nor conscience." " Emphasis added
Iran's Ahmadinejad says Israel is 'doomed'  "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Friday Israel was "doomed" and singled out US President Barack Obama for scorn, blaming Washington for orchestrating new nuclear sanctions against Tehran."

Lesson: You cannot afford to major in the minors.

Townhall "President Obama has created a gaping breach in our key military leaders at a most inopportune time. In an unprecedented move, three members of the joint chiefs of staff broke ranks publicly with their chairman (Mullen). And the fourth member of the team, Marine Gen. James Conway, has already gone on record as opposing the repeal. Dissension now reigns within the ranks of our core military leadership team. Focusing on a minor has created a major problem. "

Prolonging Education's Race to the Bottom

Heritage "But unlike the federal takeover of the banking and health care industry, this time around Obama and his liberal allies are shrewdly avoiding another public fight by moving their education agenda forward without even going through Congress. The administration is supporting a move to implement national education standards, using the $4.35 billion Race to the Top grant program to secure those ends. National standards will give the federal government – not parents – more power over education. Now, instead of petitioning their local schools boards for curriculum changes, parents will have to trek to Washington to lobby D.C. bureaucrats for input in the content taught at their children’s school." Emphasis mine

Snopes.com: Obama's Military Private Insurance Proposal

Snopes.com This has been going around for a while so TW did a bit of research on it. Snopes says it is "mostly false". However...

Failed EPA Votes Undermines Economy

Heritage "53 Senators voted against a resolution offered by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) that would have disapproved of the Environmental Protection Agency’s backdoor global warming regulations. Today’s outcome was a victory for anti-growth environmentalists, but a devastating loss for the American people."

Jones Act Slowing Oil Spill Cleanup?

Fox News  "Foreign companies possessing some of the world’s most advanced oil skimming ships say they are being kept out of efforts to clean up the oil spill in the Gulf because of a 1920’s law known as the Jones Act -- a protectionist law that requires vessels working in US waters be built in the US and be crewed by US workers." .... "Waivers to the Jones Act were granted by the administration of George W. Bush in the days following hurricane Katrina. And today, the Obama White House said waivers might again be considered.".... "Cause this is a big thing for unions,”  Brian Wilson
Oil Boom Manufacturer: We Notified Government 4 WEEKS AGO That We Have Product (Video) "Oil boom manufacture Packgen has miles of floating oil containment boom in warehouse right now and they say they can make lots more on short notice. Packgen owner John Lapoint said his company is ramping up production to make 90,000 feet of oil boom per day. But, there’s a hitch."...

Breaking: Radical Union Organizer-Black Liberation Activist Slugs Tea Party Protester in Face (Video)

Big Government "On Tuesday June 8, the North Carolina Tea Party Patriots held a protest against government bailouts in front of Rep. Mel Watt’s (D-N.C.) Greensboro office. During the protest a raging leftist goon, Governor Spencer, turned out, disrupted the protest, confronted the patriots, argued with them and then… He started throwing punches!" So much for Obama healing the racial divide.
This link should work if the other one doesn't.

Publisher puts warning label on Constitution; a response to the publisher

Charlotte Cushman "You said, "This book is a product of its time and does not reflect the same values as it would if it were written today." So tell me, what values are you talking about? Are you saying that freedom, recognition of individual rights, keeping what one has rightfully earned, living one's life for oneself, living without force in human relationships is outdated?"

The Rise of Illiberal Democracy (updated)

Fareed Zakaria "It has been difficult to recognize because for the last century in the West, democracy -- free and fair elections -- has gone hand in hand with constitutional liberalism -- the rule of law and basic human rights. But in the rest of the world, these two concepts are coming apart. Democracy without constitutional liberalism is producing centralized regimes, the erosion of liberty, ethnic competition, conflict, and war."

Barney Frank to young Dems: If you want to advance liberalism, “give us more authority”  Speaking to "useful idiots".

Conservative Pundits Strike a Chord as Nation Grows Wary of Liberalism  "On February 19, 2009, Rick Santelli helped create a movement whose political impact has not yet been fully realized. The "Rant Heard 'Round the World," as it has become known, was a profound, if hardly isolated example of the power of conservative pundits to enact political change."

Comedy Central's 'JC,'

Newsbusters "And if you aren't familiar with how Comedy Central does Christianity, watch this video and you'll get an idea of what can be expected should JC ever make it to the airwaves."

Antisemtic Face of American Left Revealed

Shawarma Mayor "It doesn't take much to figure out who the anti-Semites are. Those who came out in support of Helen Thomas. There are degrees to this disease here and I'll sort them as:"...