<p>Fact is Obama did spend some of his youth in Indonesia. Both of his fathers were born Muslim. He does have a Muslim name.</p>
<p>He did complain about having to wear a flag pin on his lapel.</p>
<p>Not rumors just facts.</p>
<p>who did he complain to about the flag pin? I hadn’t heard that one. 
</p>
<p>I guess the contest can be thought of as between a patriotic Christian from a military family and an unpatriotic son of a Muslim foreigner.</p>
<p>My wife replied to this lying email sent by a religious Republican as follows:</p>
<p>1 Call them on the lies and add a link to snopes</p>
<p>2 tell them not to bear false witness and break one of the commandments</p>
<p>3 send to :“reply all”</p>
<p>She has received numerous thanks and apologies by doing this.</p>
<p>“He did complain about having to wear a flag pin on his lapel.”</p>
<p>The flag pin thing is just pure silliness. Since when has sticking a cheap piece of plastic or metal on one’s jacket signified patriotism?</p>
<p>As long as we’re getting facts straight, Obama didn’t “complain” about having to wear a flag pin. He merely stopped doing it, and then explained why. I don’t see anything at all sinister in his answer:</p>
<p>BY ART GOLAB AND ABDON M. PALLASCH Staff Reporters/<a href="mailto:agolab@suntimes.com">agolab@suntimes.com</a> <a href="mailto:apallasch@suntimes.com">apallasch@suntimes.com</a></p>
<p>Barack Obama says he no longer wears an American flag lapel pin because it has become a substitute for “true patriotism” since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.</p>
<p>“My attitude is that I’m less concerned about what you’re wearing on your lapel than what’s in your heart,” the Democratic White House hopeful told a crowd at a campaign appearance Thursday in Independence, Iowa.</p>
<p>"You know, the truth is that right after 9/11, I had a pin. Shortly after 9/11, particularly as we’re talking about the Iraq war, I think that became a substitute for true patriotism–which is speaking out on issues that are of importance to our national security.</p>
<p>“You know, the truth is that right after 9/11, I had a pin. Shortly after 9/11, particularly as we’re talking about the Iraq war, I think that became a substitute for true patriotism–which is speaking out on issues that are of importance to our national security.”</p>
<p>That’s really profound.</p>
<p>I didn’t say it was a speech worthy of Churchill. Just “not sinister.”</p>
<p>Not sinister, and not meaningful in any way. Pablum that is being scooped up by anyone dying to get away from GWB politics of the last 7 years.</p>
<p>Let’s all try to focus on the future not the past.</p>
<p>Point taken, PG.</p>
<p>Am I the only one who’s received the email likening him to the anti-Christ? I have an “Obama '08” bumper sticker pinned to a bulletin board in my office and the person who sent me that piece of insane garbage has been in my office on numerous occasions.</p>
<p>Here’s the link to debunk the anti-Christ garbage:
[snopes.com:</a> Is Barack Obama the Anti-Christ?](<a href=“http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/antichrist.asp]snopes.com:”>Is Barack Obama the Anti-Christ? | Snopes.com)</p>
<p>Though for that, its hardly worth bothering – anyone who would believe that nonsense probably can’t be reasoned with in any case. </p>
<p>That stuff is about the same level as this:
[Alien</a> backs Bill Clinton](<a href=“http://gregbardsley.files.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2007/08/clinton_alien.jpg]Alien”>http://gregbardsley.files.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2007/08/clinton_alien.jpg)
and
[Hillary</a> Clinton adopts alien baby](<a href=“4shared.com - free file sharing and storage”>4shared.com - free file sharing and storage)</p>
![http://gregbardsley.files.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2007/08/clinton_alien.jpg]Alien](http://gregbardsley.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/clinton_alien.jpg%5DAlien){kind=link}
<p>very interesting discussion here and good suggestions, some hysterical.
It really doesn’t concern me so much when I get one of these from someone I know to be wacky (yes, of course, the MIL) but when it’s from someone I respect it really bothers me. I don’t want to be judgmental, or over blow this, but I start to feel differently about someone who genuinely believes this nonsense, and further, wants others to believe it.</p>
<p>Interesting story: [Exclusive:</a> Obama’s Rumor-Fighting Plan - TIME](<a href=“http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1813663,00.html?cnn=yes]Exclusive:”>http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1813663,00.html?cnn=yes)</p>
<p>Was just going to post that exact same story… the website has been the talk of various morning shows here on the east cost as everyone wakes up.</p>
<p>I suggest any gullible individuals out there that have a tenancy to believe everything they read or hear keep monitoring this website to put a rest to some of the nonsense that’s out there:</p>
<p>[Fight</a> the Smears | Fight the Smears Home](<a href=“http://www.fightthesmears.com%5DFight”>http://www.fightthesmears.com)</p>
<p>A very smart strategy in my mind… rather than just denying all rumors create a website that not only links directly to the material, but shows up the authors for the no-good lying sleaze balls they really are! 
The truth is their worst enemy.</p>
<p>“I guess the contest can be thought of as between a patriotic Christian from a military family and an unpatriotic son of a Muslim foreigner.”</p>
<p>I’m confused. What’s the evidence that McCain is a Christian? He occasionally attends his wife’s Baptist church, but he hasn’t joined it. He claimes to be Baptist, but since he apparently hasn’t been baptized as an adult, that’s not really the truth. And I also have trouble labelling anybody who supports the policies of the Bush administration as “patriotic,” since they have done such tremendous damage to our country. I will also point out to you that McCain wasn’t even born in America, while Obama was.</p>
<p>Hunt, I said the contest “can be thought of” by those who want to think that way. As you should know from my other posts here, I am not one of them. But that is the basic gameplan of the smear-mongers.</p>
<p>I’m sorry. Maybe you didn’t phrase it outrageously enough to distinguish it from what the smear-mongers actually say, for me to recognize it as satirical.</p>
<p>Besides, it gave me another opportunity to point out that in this election we have a choice between a committed Christian, and a person who probably isn’t one.</p>
<p>Personally, I could care less if a candidate is “Christian” or not. That just isn’t something I view as important. Just so long as he/she appears to have the best interests of America at heart, how they worship, who they worship, and even if they worship, doesn’t interest me.</p>
<p>Yes, but the voters who supposedly DO care about that are likely to vote for the candidate who does not appear to be a committed Christian, as opposed to the one who is. That’s the irony.</p>