THIS is TRUE #812: 3 January
This is True
countries, this is the 812th weekly issue of...
THIS is TRUE: 3 January 2010 Copyright http://www.thisistrue.com
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CHRISTMAS BLUES: The food factory RF Brookes in Wigston, Leicestershire,
U.K., distributed a special holiday treat for its employees: a
Christmas pudding -- which bore an expiration date of March of last
year. Managers immediately noticed the problem, ordered fresh ones, and
apologized to staffers about the delay, but some employees ran to the
media anyway to gripe. "It's disgusting," whined one who refused to be
named. "You work hard all year long and they just give you an out-of-
date Christmas pudding." (Leicester Mercury) ..."I cried because I had
no Christmas pudding from my boss until I met a man -- and then a
woman, and then a thousand others -- who had no job."
EASILY RECOGNIZABLE: Police say Mark Weinberger, a plastic surgeon from
Merrillville, Ind., talked patients into expensive surgical procedures,
and either did a bad job or just took the money and did nothing. The
46-year-old doctor then ran, even taking survival gear so he could hide
in the wild, leaving behind hundreds of patients and insurance
companies claiming fraud or malpractice, more than $5 million in debts,
and his wife. Now, five years later, police in Italy found him hiding
in a tent at 6,000' on Mont Blanc. After his arrest, Weinberger took
out a hidden box cutter and slit his own throat, but missed all
critical structures and survived. He is awaiting extradition to the
U.S. (Northwest Indiana Times, AP) ...A surgeon and he missed his own
carotid and jugular? Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's guilty in every case of
malpractice.
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PEDAL POWER: Senior Constable Cathy Duder was patrolling Whangamata on
the North Island of New Zealand when she spotted two bicyclists. She
stopped them since they were starkers, she said -- wearing nothing at
all. "They were more shocked than I was, trying to cover up their bits
and pieces with their hands," she said. When she asked them why they
were riding without clothes, the two "very fit" men in their 20s said
"they wanted to experience total freedom," she said. "And I said to
them, 'The way you're heading, you're going to experience total
confinement'." She gave them a warning -- for failure to wear helmets
-- and sent them on their way. "I suggested that they stay on their
bicycles and not get off," she said, "because they were managing to
discreetly hide their bits and pieces." (Australian AP) ...You know, I
somehow doubt either of them is going to get off anytime soon.
NOT-SO-ZERO TOLERANCE: In hindsight, says Principal Gary Anger of Red
Pine Elementary School in Eagan, Minn., it was "unwise" to allow it.
After students graduated from an anti-drug program, they were given
certificates, cake, and helium balloons. After the party, several of
the balloons had floated into the gym's ceiling, so Anger allowed a
parent to bring in a BB gun to shoot them down. There is a zero
tolerance weapons policy in the district, and students have been
expelled for bringing lesser "weapons" than that to school. When
parents complained about the double standard, Anger told a reporter
that "in retrospect, it was probably a dumb thing to do," then e-mailed
parents that "It is my hope that my decision did not send a mixed
message regarding the importance of safety at Red Pine Elementary," and
then went back to work. (Minneapolis Star Tribune) ...Sure it was
"unwise". But how does a trained professional get to continue in his
job when inexperienced children who do the same thing get expelled from
school for life?
BUSINESS IDEA MAKES A KILLING: "Murder Mystery Dinner Train Runs over Man
Lying on Tracks" -- Fort Myers (Fla.) News-Press headline
DID YOU FIND an error? See http://www.thisistrue.com/errata.html
AN AMAZING LETTER came in yesterday I'd like to share with you, from
reader Bronwyn in Virginia: "My father discovered your wonderful
website some years ago -- I believe it was in 2000 -- and was a
faithful subscriber. He first brought your website to my attention in,
I believe, 2003 or 2004, when he read me one or two of the stories in
one week's issue and then informed me that he had ordered 'something
really cool' from your site. That turned out to be an order of your
famous (infamous?) Get Out of Hell Free cards. I had never seen him so
excited as the day they arrived; he was like a two-year-old on
Christmas morning. He kept a few of them in his wallet, and every so
often, when someone would tell him he was 'going to hell', he would
whip out one of the cards and announce, 'I've got this. I'm good.' He
enjoyed your newsletter -- and your cards -- so much that I, too,
subscribed. In November of 2005 -- Veteran's Day, as it happens -- my
father was in a severe accident. He was in the U.S. Navy, assigned to
the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, and he commuted daily to the Norfolk
Naval Shipyard via bicycle. We still have no idea what happened to him,
but he wound up in the hospital with a severe head injury. The doctors
and nurses gave him a very poor prognosis, but not only did he survive,
he went back to almost the way he had been before the accident. Once he
had mostly recovered, he told me that three things had really helped
him through the last difficult stages: Sudoku, Freecell, and This is
True. I thought about e-mailing you at the time, but never had the time
and eventually forgot. On December 11, 2009, I received a phone call
informing me that my father had been found dead in our living room that
morning. One week later, when my mother got her last opportunity to see
my father before they shut the lid of his coffin, she slipped a card
into his folded hands (his uniform has no pockets). That card was one
of your Get Out of Hell Free cards. I am not implying that it will
actually be of any use, nor that my father needed it. However, I am
sure that he and whomever he is hanging out with in the afterlife are
getting a good chuckle out of that card. Thank you, from the bottom of
my heart, for making my father's last years on Earth so enjoyable and
memorable."
Sympathies for your loss, Bronwyn, and thanks for taking the time to
tell the story. With so many readers, I indeed have heard of many who
have battled severe injury or illness over the years. Since I had your
father's name (he was a Premium subscriber since 2004), I was able to
look up his obituary: he was only 45 years old. That's too young to
die, but if I had any part in making his short life better, I'm
certainly pleased; a writer can't ask for much better.
PREMIUM SUBSCRIBERS got DOUBLE the stories on Monday: Forger breaks out
of jail -- by forging release paperwork. Man sends ex-girlfriend text
mail advising her to "duck" -- just before there's a drive-by shooting.
The popular "Whack-a-Mole" game updated -- so you can Whack a Banker.
YouTube-driven fad of "riding" Christmas trees goes wrong -- tree
crashes into car. Stop missing half the fun: upgrades start at just
$10! http://thisistrue.com/upgrade.html
o o o
THERE'S SOMETHING I've been wanting to get off my chest for a few months.
On its face it seems simple, but when you dig in a bit you realize it's
actually a tad sinister....
I generally *don't* want suggestions for TRUE's "Honorary Unsubscribe"
feature; my usual problem is having far too many possibilities for the
one slot each week. In July, a new trend started, and has not stopped
(I got another last week): people wanting me to do an Honorary
Unsubscribe write-up for Ed Freeman, a brave Vietnam War helicopter
pilot who saved about 30 shot-up kids and was awarded the Medal of
Honor -- the U.S.'s highest military decoration.
And then there's the kicker, the angry twist: "Shame on the American
Media" for not honoring Ed Freeman with obituaries and news stories
after this great American hero died on June 25, 2009. Does that date
sound familiar? Might not; I had to look to confirm that indeed it's
the same date Michael Jackson died. It is. "Michael Jackson dies and
it's 24/7 news coverage," the e-mail that everyone has been forwarding
to me concludes. But, "A real American hero dies and not a mention of
it in the news. The media has no honor and God is watching."
Ignoring the implication that God takes sides in our earthly wars*,
there's a good reason the media ignored Ed Freeman on June 25 in favor
of Michael Jackson: Ed Freeman didn't die on June 25, 2009. Rather, he
died on August 20, 2008 -- ten months prior to Michael Jackson. Now, I
actually pay attention to the obituaries because I honor someone each
week. And you know what? I noticed that he died, because "the media"
did, in fact, honor him very well with obituaries and news stories
about this great American hero.
* ("Our task should not be to invoke religion and the name of God by
claiming God's blessing and endorsement for all our national policies
and practices, saying, in effect, that God is on our side. Rather, we
should pray and worry earnestly whether we are on God's side." --
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the U.S.)
So who DIDN'T notice the death of the great American hero? That's
right: the readers who are complaining about the coverage of someone
who DID die on June 25, 2009. So if it's "shame on" anyone, it's those
who didn't notice those numerous stories about Freeman -- those who
either didn't pay attention or, worse, FORGOT about Ed Freeman. But
instead of honoring him, they use him as a political pawn to complain
that the public cares about other people, too. And yet these hypocrites
dare to point fingers and scream "SHAME!"? They should be looking in
the mirror when they do it.
Worse, this political manipulation was done ON PURPOSE: someone had to
put that fake date on there, and I have little doubt that it was done
knowingly. Snopes, which tracks and debunks stories like this, notes
that the same e-mail was previously used to compare the "lack of
coverage" of Freeman's death with "some Hip-Hop coward beating the crap
out of his 'girlfriend'" -- a reference, Snopes says, to "rapper Chris
Brown's having been arrested in February 2009 on charges of battery
against his girlfriend, Rihanna."
Yet that was manipulation too: that February 2009 arrest was six months
after Freeman's death. There's another similarity: Chris Brown is a
black entertainer. Michael Jackson was a black entertainer. And Ed
Freeman? A white guy. Smells of racism, doesn't it? Would a Medal of
Honor recipient condone his name being used to perpetuate racism? I
doubt it very, very much.
There's a reason my Spam Primer talks about spam "and other e-mail
pests" like chain letters. They're very often used for political
manipulation. Think back to the recent presidential campaign, where e-
mails circulated like mad with charges like Barack Obama was not born
in the U.S., or that he "refuses" to pledge allegiance to the flag, or
"refuses" to wear an American flag lapel pin. Or that he's actually a
Muslim. Each and every one a lie, but sent out to manipulate the
gullible.
Hey, did you notice? Obama is black too.
Maybe it's a coincidence, but I just don't think so.
Now, if you have legitimate gripes about the president, that's fine.
I'm not, in fact, a Democrat myself, and some of his actions have given
me pause; no one is going to agree with every decision, every policy,
every initiative of ANY president. But do you want to be used as a pawn
in a disinformation campaign with political or racist goals? If not,
then THINK about that e-mail you get that says you should "pass on to
everyone you know" no matter how good the cause sounds -- even a story
about a real hero. Check it on Snopes or another apolitical debunking
site to see if it's real, or not. There are plenty of REAL horrors in
the world to get up in arms about, and those horrors are more deserving
of your attention than made-up stories designed to support some fringe
political position. In other words, think FIRST, *before* you hit Send.
Trust me: that's not too difficult.
Oh, and don't send me the manipulative chain e-mail saying Snopes is
political! That's garbage too! Sheesh!
So, did I, in fact, honor Ed Freeman in the Honorary Unsubscribe? No; I
had some weeks earlier honored a Medal of Honor recipient (Jack Lucas
-- remember?), and in August 2008, someone who was a personal hero and
had an impact on the creation of TRUE died, and I honored him instead:
Lawrence Urdang. As I said, the problem is having far too many
possibilities: there are a lot of worthy people who had real impact on
others who die every single day.
COMMENTS? This is on my blog, with the full text of the Ed Freeman e-mail
with a White House photo of Ed Freeman receiving his Medal of Honor,
links to the Jack Lucas and Laurence Urdang HUs, and more:
http://www.thisistrue.com/blog-ed_freeman_and_political_manipulation
o o o
AMONG THE LATEST postings to Jumbo Joke: Unlikely Creatures from American
Folklore. I particularly like the last one (illustrated) that is right
around the corner from the This is True offices. Yeah: locals here
*like* monsters that eat tourists. They're crunchalicious!
http://www.JumboJoke.com
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TOP ON GROXX TODAY: "City Shells Out $35G to Grandmother Busted as
Hooker" New York city, that is: the cop admits he "trumped up" the
charges against the woman, who was actually walking to a hospital for
treatment for an asthma attack. Submit stories and vote on what
submissions are best, register for free at http://Groxx.com
TEN YEARS AGO IN TRUE: A couple of very stupid -- yet remarkably
successful -- bank robbers: http://thisistrue.com/d6967 (Be sure to
click on the next several stories, "Dumber", "Dumbest" and "Beyond
Dumb" too! And don't forget http://i.thisistrue.com for a new story
every day on your iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, or other web-enabled
phone!
BONZER WEB SITE OF THE WEEK: http://www.FutilityCloset.com -- the
Futility Closet. Strange name, but it describes itself as "An idler's
miscellany of compendious amusements." In other words: trivia --
thousands of "epigrams, anecdotes, illusions and wonders; puzzles,
prodigies, sublimities and horrors. Read a few and get back to work.
We'll keep finding more." Run by Greg Ross out of Raleigh, N.C., (from,
I would hope, his closet), the site reminds me a lot of the late L.M.
(Louis) Boyd's brilliant newspaper trivia column (untitled, so far as I
can tell, but called "Grab Bag" in the San Francisco Chronicle). Read a
few and get back to work.
-- Bonzer Sites archive: http://www.BonzerSites.com
THIS WEEK'S HONORARY UNSUBSCRIBE goes to Bill Powell. "Restricted" from
playing golf at most country clubs and even public courses because he
was black, Powel built his own course -- doing the work himself --
where anyone could play. For the full story see
http://www.HonoraryUnsubscribe.com/bill_powell.html
AND A PEACEFUL FAREWELL to Tsutomu Yamaguchi, who on 6 August 1945 went
on a business trip to Hiroshima, Japan. He survived the atomic blast
and went home to recuperate -- to Nagasaki, where he survived the 9
August follow-up a-bomb. The only known survivor of both blasts,
Yamaguchi died January 4 from stomach cancer at age 93.
NOTE: The full Honorary Unsubscribe is included in the Premium edition --
you don't have to click to a web site to read it. Support the
publication that brings it to you! http://thisistrue.com/upgrade.html
HONORARY SUBSCRIBE ARCHIVE: http://www.HonoraryUnsubscribe.com
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TIRED OF BEING TOLD WHERE TO GO? "Get Out of Hell Free" with our popular
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was doomed. http://www.GOOHF.com
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