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FACTS: Outrageous? Then doubt them

| April 16, 2010 10:00 PM

“Caveat lector” – Reader beware! It truly does become wearisome to read letters to the editor by people who don’t have a clue what they are talking about. 

Take for example Steve Adams’ recent diatribe against Obama stating that “… Obama has started yet another program to help those who traditionally vote for Democrat candidates. If you are a teacher, policeman, firefighter or EMT, the government will give you up to half off the list price of a home… Is our president trying to make Democrats ashamed of themselves for supporting him?” 

The program he is speaking about is called the “Good Neighbor Next Door” program sponsored by the federal department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It became effective on Dec. 1, 2006. It was modeled after the prior successful Officer and Teacher Next Door (OND and TND) programs established in 1999 for selected neighborhoods targeted for revitalization. 

Under the Bush administration the program was expanded. They found that an influx of police officers as homeowners resulted in a decrease in crime in these neighborhoods. http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/hudclips/notices/hsg/files/18456.pdf 

This kind of information is easily found on reliable websites on the internet.

I don’t mean to pick on Mr. Adams. He just happens to be the latest in a long line of bellicose confabulators who repeatedly attempt to misinform readers either through ignorance or intentional deceit. It seems that many of these writers live, isolated, on planet Limbaugh or in the country of GlenBeckistan, where the motto is: Never let the facts stand in the way of a ridiculous accusation.           If these people make unbelievably outrageous claims — it is a good bet that it IS, in fact, exactly that: an outrageous claim. And we should be outraged that these people continue to try to bamboozle us. We should take careful note of who they are and take what they say with a grain of salt.

JUSTIN STORMOGIPSON

Coeur d’Alene