Dear ____ (my mother in law)
1) Valerie Jarrett was born in Iran, *to American parents who were working there.* Wikipedia: "Valerie Bowman was born on November 14, 1956 in Shiraz, Iran, where her father, Dr. James Bowman, ran a hospital for poor children. Her father, a pathologist and geneticist, is Professor Emeritus in Pathology and Medicine, University of Chicago"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerie_Jarrett. I don't see the relevance of this.
2) The email mentions a "trip around the world" that Obama took "after his 2nd year of college." Mysteriously it says the trip took place in the year "198" but leaves the last digit off. I checked Wikipedia and talked to someone who read both of his books the talk about the trip is completely twisted and incorrect. Wikipedia mentions a trip he took in 1988, and it says he met some of his father's relatives on this trip, *for the very first time.* But he graduated from Columbia in 1983! So the email has him going to Africa in 1981 (after his 2nd year of college) and then returning and asking everyone to call him Barak instead of Barry. But the trip didn't take place until 1988. And according to the email, he was already going by the name "Barak" by then. So it contradicts itself, even in the middle of a lie. It is clearly changing the facts around to match the story, which itself is a lie.
3) He got money for college like everyone else - loans, working summers and paying back loans. After graduating Columbia, he got a good job for several months and paid off loans and made some good money for some months. He quit it and searched for jobs as a community organizer but was turned down until he got a job he liked in Chicago.
4) The main point of this email is the question "Where is the money coming from?" The claim that the money for his presidential campaign is not coming from small contributions on the internet, but rather middle east funders, is an outright lie, and shows the whole email is bogus. Again we can simply turn to Snopes.com which has a similar email on there, suspiciously with the title "where is the money coming from?" Your letter asks this same question several times. I wouldn't be surprised if the same person wrote both emails. Regardless, just check Snopes here:
http://snopes.com/politics/obama/donations.aspthat claim is clearly false!
Please note that virtually everything in the email makes unsubstantiated references to news stories that likely don't exist. For example one says "This past week, buried in the back part of the papers....." Doesn't that sound a little suspect to you? If I were writing an article like this, and if I mentioned something that was "buried in the back part of the papers" I would give a link to substantiate the claim. You would think that this person, who did all this research herself, would back up some of her information with the actual link to the article, if it existed. These people know that most readers aren't going to take the time to check and see if any of these smears are true. If they were true, you'd see some links. I picked just one, the reference to the Washington Times Sept.7th and found that the article itself stated "Within one hour of the interview, anti-Obama groups had edited it out of context and were sending it around via e-mail.... Mr. Obama, who is a Christian and often proudly speaks about how his faith has influenced his public service, said he finds it "deeply offensive" that there are efforts "coming out of the Republican camp" to suggest "that perhaps I'm not who I say I am when it comes to my faith." The link is here:
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/sep/08/obama-mistake-on-being-muslim-seized-by-rivals/I think there's no question that the writer never was planning on voting for Obama as he/she claims, but rather trying to appeal to those who are. It's a classic tactic.
I think we have enough to show that this email is based on lies. But If you want me to dig deeper I will.
One other note-- anytime you get an email like this, consider the fact that email is the choice medium for lies like this because no one has to take responsibility. If anyone ever posted something like this on a website or blog, they would have to own up to it. Using email creates a barrier by which people can lie and smear and never have to respond.
The worst thing of it all is that 22 other people received the email along with you. I'm guessing you are probably the only one that looked into the facts, or asked someone else to do it for them. So 22 people, and probably millions others like them are taking this bowl of lies seriously.
If it were me, I would do my part and politely reply to the other 22 people and point out a few inaccuracies to try to stem the tide. But that's your choice.
I believe Jesus said the truth will set you free. Lies like this will only hurt us and prevent us from making good decisions.
Thanks for checking
Gary
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