In the Spotlight: Exposing the Lies

Welcome to In the Spotlight, a semi-regular feature of this blog, where I highlight one or more of the links on my personal Web site, www.HansMeyer.net.

Yesterday I posted the article, The Right-Wing Smear Forward, which is the motivation for today's In the Spotlight.

I'll be highlighting two sites, on my Information links page, dedicated to either confirming or exposing as lies the seemingly unlimited amount of urban legends and gossip found on Web sites and (even more so) in chain mail e-mail messages* we all receive.

The first site is Snopes (also known as Urban Legends):

The other site is Break the Chain, which specifically targets the chain mail messages* we all receive:

* - I like to refer to some of these chain mail messages as a poor person's computer virus. Instead of spreading themselves automatically they use the recipients of the message to do the spreading for them.

You can spot them easily: They're the ones which have a line reading: Forward this to everyone you know, or Forward this to everyone in your address book. If you see that in an e-mail message check with Snopes or Break the Chain. Chances are it is a fake message.

As an added bonus I am including, from my Humor links page, My Right-Wing Dad, a collection of right-wing'ed forwards:


You'll find quite a collection of right wing nut chain e-mail messages, which some people, believe it or not, actually take as the truth!

(go to www.HansMeyer.net/Links, then click on Information or Humor).

Click here for this and previous In The Spotlight posts.

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In the Spotlight: Safeguarding the Separation of Church and State, Protecting Religious Liberty

Welcome to In the Spotlight, a semi-regular feature of this blog, where I highlight one or more of the links on my personal Web site, www.HansMeyer.net.

Today I'll be highlighting several sites dedicated to, as the first site says, "Safeguarding separation of church and state, protecting religious liberty."

1 First Freedom First - Safeguarding separation of church and state, protecting religious liberty:

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State:

Freedom from Religion Foundation - Protecting the Constitutional Principle of the Separation of State and Church:

Theocracy Watch - The Rise of the Religious Right in the Republican Party (a public information project of the Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy at Cornell University):

Blog Against Theocracy - This is a link archive of those blogs participating in the Blog Against Theocracy blogswarms. The next blogswarm is July 1-4, 2007 :

(go to www.HansMeyer.net/Links, then click on Opinion for 1 First Freedom First and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. Click on Information for Freedom from Religion Foundation and Theocracy Watch. Click on Blogs for Blog Against Theocracy.)

Click here for this and previous In The Spotlight posts.

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In The Spotlight: Holding Politicians Accountable

Welcome to In the Spotlight, a semi-regular feature of this blog, where I highlight one or more of the links on my personal Web site, www.HansMeyer.net.

Today I'll be highlighting two sites dedicated to "Holding Politicians Accountable" by examining their words and advertisements, and highlighting truths, half-truths, half-lies, and outright lies.

First up is Annenberg Political Fact Check, which is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania:


The next site, PolitiFact.org, is a new site, established by the St. Petersburg Times of Florida and Congressional Quarterly of Washington, D.C., to monitor truth in 2008 presidential claims.

On a side note, I have been reading the St. Petersburg Times for almost forty years now. Fortunately, it is available each day here in Tallahassee. I highly recommend this newspaper for its journalistic integrity, whether in print or on-line.

From the St. Petersburg Times Web site:

In 1975, Nelson Poynter established the Modern Media Institute (now known as the Poynter Institute for Media Studies) as a non-profit educational institution to teach and research journalism, and to which he left his stock in the Times Publishing Company. (read the entire history of the St. Petersburg Times)

It was this move which enabled the St. Petersburg Times to remain independent and to keep it from being taken over by a media conglomerate.

With thanks to Randy Wooden, of the Wooden Foundation, for alerting me to FactCheck.org and PoltiFact.org.

Go to www.HansMeyer.net/Links, then click on Information for FactCheck.org and PoltiFact.org, or click on Traditional Media Sites for the St. Petersburg Times.

Click here for this and previous In The Spotlight posts.

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In the Spotlight: Chickenhead

Welcome to In the Spotlight, a semi-regular feature of this blog, where I highlight one or more of the links on my personal Web site, www.HansMeyer.net.

Today I'll be highlighting Chickenhead, a source for some of the best humor on the Web:

First up, The Absolute Bottom 50... (Behold! Lists upon lists of the unimaginably horrible!). Here you will find lists like Biblical Commandments, Fetishes and (naturally) Blogs:

Next up, Comic Strip, two panes of absolute mirth,and "fascinating minutiae":


Then there's Bannertown (Welcome to Bannertown - where old Chickenhead parody advertisements go to die). In addition to the link I'm including some choice banners:




Finally, some Buddy Icons to close out this In The Spotlight:

That's Chickenhead, which can be found on my Humor page (go to www.HansMeyer.net/Links, then click on Humor). Click here for this and previous In The Spotlight posts.

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In the Spotlight: LiLEKS.com

Welcome to In the Spotlight, a semi-regular feature of this blog, where I highlight one or more of the links on my personal Web site, www.HansMeyer.net.

Although we would probably disagree on politics, James Lileks (LiLEKS.com - Unpacking the Past With Joy and Ambivalence Since 1996) has some of the funniest Web pages on the Internet.


There really are too many different sites to individually highlight here, so I'll just go with a few of my favorites.


My first *ahem* taste of LiLEKS humor:


The Gobbler Motel and Supper Club (as Lileks says, "What were they thinking?"):


"Come for the fun; stay for the gigantic cat-eyed fangfish.":

"Class. Pure class. That's what the entire catalog ooses...":


From Lilek's Flotsam Project:


And one of my favorites:


Finally, the one which is probably nearest and dearest to a computer nerd like me:


You can find initial links to LiLEKS.com on my Humor page (go to www.HansMeyer.net/Links, then click on Humor). Click here for this and previous In The Spotlight posts.

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Raptured: The Final Daze of the Late, Great Planet Earth

As a follow-up to this past Sunday's In The Spotlight, Earl Lee, author of Kiss My Left Behind, has a new book coming out, the latest in his Kiss My Left Behind series:

Raptured: The Final Daze of the Late, Great Planet Earth

I have already added it to my Amazon Wish List!

(read the author's blog).

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In the Spotlight: Putting the faux religionists in their place

Welcome to In the Spotlight, a semi-regular feature of this blog, where I highlight one or more of the links on my personal Web site, www.HansMeyer.net.

On Friday I posted The Great I Am Says Vote For Sam, with a graphic/link to Baptists for Brownback. Yesterday it was What Would Jesus Wear. These are two excellent examples of the links I'm highlighting (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/Links).

Today we'll look at three Web sites which use humor, satire and sarcasm to thoroughly expose the hypocrisy of the so-called conservative Christians. The kind of faux religionists who deify the blastocyst, who think Chick Publications are the Word of God, and who wallow in sadomasochistic pleasure watching "religious" snuff films. The end-timers who can, quite frankly, Kiss My Left Behind* (read the author's blog).

First up, Jesus' General, who I read every day:


Next, America's Best Christian, Betty Bowers:

And, finally, Landover Baptist Church, where the worthwhile worship:


All three sites are, well, worthwhile! And all three sites can be found in my Humor section (go to www.HansMeyer.net/Links, then click on Humor)

* - Beware the Antichrist: Nickelay Dubyah, ruler of the former Soviet Republik of Texrectumstan.

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In the Spotlight: Tahoma Beadworks

Welcome to In the Spotlight, a semi-regular feature of this blog, where I highlight one or more of the links on my personal Web site, www.HansMeyer.net.

Today I'll be highlighting one of my favorite blogs, Tahoma Beadworks (go to www.HansMeyer.net/Links, then click on Blogs).

Created and maintained by JoJo, Tahoma Beadworks, covers "Beads, Crafts, Vincent, Music, Grateful Dead, Sports, My Travels & Life in General," with some great photography.

(I am wondering, however, who is JoJo's favorite actor. One of those life's mysteries, no doubt.)

Be sure to visit often... and tell JoJo I said "hello"!

URL: http://beadsandvincent.blogspot.com/

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In the Spotlight: Idiots and Hypocrites

Welcome to In the Spotlight, a semi-regular feature of this blog, where I highlight one or more of the links on my personal Web site, www.HansMeyer.net.

Today I'll be highlighting two great sites, both of which can be found on my Opinion and Humor pages (Easy URL to my Links pages: www.HansMeyer.net/Links).

At the beginning of each week, Democratic Underground places ten conservatives under a different kind of spotlight.

URL: www.democraticunderground.com/top10/index.html

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BuzzFlash.com's GOP Hypocrite of the Week. As they say on the Web site: "So Many Republican Hypocrites, So Little Time."

URL: www.gophypocrites.com

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New Feature: In the Spotlight

Regular visitors to my personal Web site (http://www.hansmeyer.net/) know that I have a large collection of links (easy URL: www.HansMeyer.net/Links).

These links include blogs, media (both traditional media and on-line media), opinion, humor, comics, information and travel, dining and leisure.

Periodically I will highlight one or more of my links, placing them In the Spotlight.

Today I'll highlight two links from my Information links page:

• Pew Research - The Political Typology


• Political Compass

The old one-dimensional categories of 'right' and 'left' are overly simplistic for today's complex political landscape. Use these sites to test exactly where you stand politically. You just might be surprised!

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