I've had it up to here with conservative spam emails... so this is what I did

[scheming daemons]

Background...

I recently received two more spam emails from conservative relatives that pushed me over the edge.

The first was one that had a quote about how bad socialist ideas are and claimed the quote was from Abe Lincoln. I looked it up and the quote was actually from a southern baptist minister in 1984.

The second was an email that claimed that Obama's victory wasn't a REAL victory, since it was mostly inner city vote and that the majority of the country was conservative. It was full of easily verifiable lies.

So this is the email I sent to the distribution lists:

Don't you find it interesting that the ONLY spam political emails anyone ever gets... the ones full of falsehoods and misleading information... almost always come from conservatives? When was the last time you got a spam email from a liberal - with blatantly MADE UP facts... facts that are easily refuted with a 30-second google search? The next time you get one... send it to me. Because I haven't yet seen one. I'm sure there must be at least ONE out there somewhere.

If the truth is on someone's side, then why send lies? Not just lies, but EASILY checked lies.

Here's why.... because most people don't have a good sense to detect when they're being bullshitted. The originator of the email is counting on the fact that most of the people who receive the email won't check into it and will buy it hook, line, and sinker.

So ..... they send out spam emails containing a quote from a bible-thumping pastor in the 1980s and claim that it came from Abraham Lincoln. Why? Because most people wouldn't pay attention to a quote that came from a baptist minister who thinks the earth is 6000 years old and that dinosaurs and humans co-existed.

.... But they might pay attention to a quote from our greatest President. So some conservative told a lie... then spread it around the internet.

Also..... in order to give the impression that Obama won ONLY because of the inner-city black vote (and not by "REAL" Americans)
.....they send out a spam email claiming that he only won 21 states (he won 28)....
....that he only won 1/3 of the counties in the country (he won 50% of them)
....that the crime rate in the counties he won was 10 per 100,000 and the counties that McCain won was 3 per 100,000 (it was about 4.5 for both Obama and McCain's counties)
....that Obama got less than 40% of the white vote (he got 47% - the highest for any Democrat since LBJ in 1964)
....that Obama narrowly won the election (he won by 200+ electoral votes and by over 11 million popular vote - the largest margin of victory since Reagan in 1984)
....that all the statistics were compiled by some respected professor at a University (they even name him) and the guy had NOTHING to do with the information and has been spending his time trying to correct the record.

So another conservative told a lie (actually several of them)... then spread it around the internet. My brother-in-law Dave got it... and bought it hook, line, and sinker. Then propagated it.

When I point out that it's all lies... I'm told I am "nitpicking". Sorry... when the entire premise of the email is false, then the conclusion is false also.

That's just the two most recent ones. It's been going on since conservatives first learned how to use email. Like I said... 9 out of every 10 political-related emails I get turn out to be false. But most of the people getting them never discover that.

So the question becomes... why do conservatives feel the need to propagate lies in order to advance their agenda?
If they have the "truth" on their side, why the need to dress it up with lies?

Because it is about an agenda. It is about propaganda. Most people on email lists don't take the time to check out whether they're being bullshitted or not.

But I do.

When someone lies to me over and over again (whether on purpose or not)... don't expect anything on the subject they say to have any credibility whatsoever with me. The benefit of the doubt is gone.

[rockymountaindem]

1. Awesome. Let us know what tripe people reply with n/t

[donheld]

2. Bravo

[yourout]

3. Very good response.

[girl gone mad]

4. Very good response.

My MIL stopped sending me this kind of bullshit a couple of months ago when I "replied to all" to her last spam, and called out each lie, one by one.

[NJCher]

50. I've done the "reply all" thing

It brought out a lot of interesting responses, including one from an academic who was on the list and who appreciated the content being called out.


Cher

[crispini]

57. Yes, nobody will send me those emails anymore

because they know perfectly well I'll do exactly that.

Also, all of my friends are Democrats. Go figure.

[vanboggie]

102. I did that, too

Replied to all after getting one too many of those bullshit emails from a brother in law just before the election. He didn't appreciate "being humiliated." Well then, don't send out bullshit. It at least got me off his email list :) He's still mad at me, his daughter told me off, and I am enjoying the quiet tremendously.

Bravo to the OP!! :yourock: :applause: :woohoo:

[girl gone mad]

109. lol.

yes, the MIL sent a response about her feelings being hurt and how it was all my fault for not understanding what's important to her and not having the right priorities in life. She's a perpetual victim so I expected as much.

The original e-mail was so full of blind hatred toward Muslims that I couldn't stop myself. My husband's best friend since childhood is Muslim, and she knows that, but she still forwarded the stupid e-mail.

[OhioBlue]

5. awesome reply

I agree 100% - all the bull shit e-mails I get are from Conservatives. My liberal friends send actual first person e-mails or links to a news article with comments.

[tabatha]

6. Outstanding --- thanks for stepping up to the plate.

[FourScore]

7. I expect to see this at the top of the greatest page by tomorrow AM.

Hell, it will get there probably before I even go to bed.

K and R!!!

:kick:

[The Doctor.]

8. Too many 'words'.

And it doesn't tell them what they want to hear, so you might as well have written it in Ancient Egyptian Algebra.

I used to think that would be an exaggeration. I'm still amazed to have learned that they really are that ignorant. They expect everyone to read what they want to believe, but would never consider anything that challenges those beliefs.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

10. Aw hell, just mis spell a bunch of words. They will take it as Gospel

[AlbertCat]

106. They will take it as Gospel

Well, in a world where one believes THE Gospel literally what do you expect? Religion for these people is not a spiritual journey, but a fairy tale about how wonderful and perfect everything will be if we can just get rid of that one person/thing/behavior that is just ruining it all for everyone. If only such and such would happen (that will never happen, like the whole world becoming one religion or another) it'll be rainbows and puppy dogs for everyone! If you're that credulous to believe such childish nonsense, you'll believe anything. Don't think! Just believe!

[AlbertCat]

107. Oops!

Dup (or some reason) mea culpa.

[Bitwit1234]

20. Well you are correct . I would say what they send is

propaganda but I have been using this word instead of propaganda to describe republicans trash for the last couple of years...poopaganda.

[The Doctor.]

25. ....

:rofl: :spray:

[xxqqqzme]

70. OK - good word

I'm using that for the next RW email I get from my mother! Maybe she will read the reply.......nah, probably not. I've sent her snopes links so many times, it borders on ridiculous.

[vietnam_war_vet]

84. Similarly, with my Tai Chi instructor

I do respect her as she's an excellent Tai Chi and martial arts instructor, but she's also a rabid, frothing-at-the-mouth, bigoted right winger.

She simply can't stand that "one of them" is now our President.

I have repeatedly taken the time to do a Google and/or Snopes with her forwarded emails, disproved the enclosed embellishments and/or outright lies, and then email her back with the indisputable truth.

It doesn't even phase her. The last wingnut email that she forwarded to me actually claimed its enclosed anti-Obama lies had been verified by Snopes. Nope, just the opposite. Snopes specifically crucified this particular email's bigoted contents and alleged Obama quotes as being false.


I haven't utilized the "reply all" strategy yet. A good number of the other people on her email list are either her relatives or folks like me....former or current students of hers.

The saddest aspect of this is that she is well-educated (college graduate) and otherwise a very intelligent woman. Go figure. -- Michael

[AlbertCat]

108. she is well-educated (college graduate) and otherwise a very intelligent

Hysteria and fear know no bounds.

[kevinbgoode]

9. Excellent! And....you were rather polite, too.

I'm afraid I'd be more apt to add something questioning the "patriotism" of people who feel compelled to lie to their friends, relatives and neighbors - and who are more than willing to repeat those lies in order to achieve some kind of agenda, rather than believe in this country's values of truth, justice and the American people's right to know the facts.

I have shut more than one "conservative" down by pointing out that they seem to ruin their own credibility by continually showing the rest of us that "free speech" to them is nothing more than the right to propogate lies and distortion - without challenge. So why do conservatives hate Americans so much?

[LoZoccolo]

11. Sometimes there's a huge trail of email addresses from all the forwarding...LOOK FOR POLICE!

They can get in a metric fuckton of trouble for forwarding a lot of things, especially of they are racist, and if you copy a few of the local newspapers and TV stations (if you do more than one you can get them afraid that the others will scoop them), it will be less likely to get buried in an "internal investigation" that yields no results. A few police have been busted for this. It might work for other thngs, like people using their company email to forward, as well.

[sandnsea]

12. Now I would love to get that in my "spam" email

That is excellent!

[madamesilverspurs]

13. Good for you!

I've tried the same thing, and the number of those emails has lessened. But there are a couple of folks who keep trying, and one of their newest tricks is to include something like "I've already verified this through Snopes", which usually turns out to be as false as the central premise of their email. And there always seems to be a 'pssssst, over here' quality with these things, like we're about to be informed of some deep dark secret.

Sadly, some of those spammers don't receive graciously any effort to correct their misinformation. At some point in their lives they apparently decided that ignorance is a good choice, but you'd think the stench would become uncomfortable after a while. Others, like my dearly loved brother, seek conversation on a given topic then claim inability to continue due to the physical illness caused by the stress delivered by my differing opinion.

Which gives me renewed appreciation for that wonderful catchall response: whatever!


---

[CTyankee]

37. How about saying to him "Until you can send me actual verifiable fact

sources to back up the assertions in your email, do not email again. Any further messages from will be deleted UNREAD."

[barbtries]

114. my sister sent me one only

at the end of my reply, in which i tore up the email itself, i wrote, "i love you. please never send me another pile of crap like this." and she hasn't. happily, she didn't take it badly, she wasn't sure how she felt about it herself. i am sure that she's getting bombarded with shit.

[bergie321]

71. I love the

"I searched Snopes and couldn't find this so it must be true" disclaimers.

[Mopar151]

81. Our family nitwit sent an anti-snopes E-lie

I asked on here, got a ton of ammo to send back. I can't claim complete success, but it helped. "If your best point is a LIE, what does that say about the rest of your argument?" Only thing worse to 'em is showing them that they've been used to raise money for some RW shitlizard.

[TrogL]

99. They believe simpletons are blessed and good

It's just a continuence of the "stupid is good" meme that's been building for the last 20 years.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

14. This is outstanding and oh so true!

K&R

[niyad]

15. my guess is that a lot of people are going to be seeing that in their email--I would ask your

permission to copy and send--but, several rounds of "reply all" with the relevant snopes or urbanlegend link pretty much put an end to my receiving that bs.

do, please, let us know what sort of responses you get.

[LaPera]

16. Great - Stop the slimy Republicans.

[Tuvok Obama]

17. K&R, bookmarking for future reference

This is damn good stuff.

"When was the last time you got a spam email from a liberal - with blatantly MADE UP facts... facts that are easily refuted with a 30-second google search? The next time you get one... send it to me. Because I haven't yet seen one. I'm sure there must be at least ONE out there somewhere."

[Vidar]

18. K&R.

[Warpy]

19. I usually followed the debunking

with a statement that if the sender didn't want to be blocked from my inbox, that would be the last pack of lies s/he would ever send me. I did block a few people and the word got around and I haven't had any of that garbage since then. Of course, I hit "send to all" by mistake.

Anyone I block can spend a few cents on a stamp or phone call if they need to get in touch with me.

[Sherman A1]

23. Precisely

I had a cousin, who would send out this kind of crap over and over again. I eventually had to block his emails to maintain my sanity. I only get them when someone on the list does a respond all as I didn't block everyone on the list. The last one I received in this method was a discussion of the alleged proposal to bring the internet to under served areas, which of course was taken as "I don't get my internet for free so why should I pay for someone else to get it?" I was able to inform dear cousin (and his little playmates) that this proposal was about infrastructure and not paying for someone's internet connection and that if in the 1930's we had taken that attitude... 1). his rural community would not have electricity to power his computer and 2). he would not be around as his Grandfather would not have met his Grandmother as they both worked and met while working for the National Recovery Act.

Odd, I heard of no response.....

[lbrtbell]

21. I proudly K&R your post!

You said what needed to be said, presented facts, and managed to be polite about it.

:kick: :yourock: :patriot:

[dmr]

22. I'm curious as to their replies to you

and rest assured they'll be talking about you behind your back. I know, I have the same in my family.

Awesome letter.

:hi:

[Tre of Life 2010]

24. What was the quotation?

What was the quotation?

[scheming daemons]

38. Here's what they sent

You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy
out of prosperity. What one person receives without working for, another
person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to
anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because
the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets
the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get
what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any
nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."
--Abraham Lincoln


The person who actually made the quote is Adrian Rogers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Rogers

[Grins]

89. And Adrain Rogers is...

...the knob-gobbler that once said this:

“I believe slavery is a much maligned institution; if we had slavery today, we would not have this welfare mess.”

And he's a damn PASTOR! He died four years ago; obviously never having read or understood the story of the loves and fishes. And when Jesus heard Rogers say this he, of course, said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.”

He's also the Reich-wing nutsac is the one that tore the Baptist Convention apart and made it lurch to the far-Reich and the Conservatism that the Evangelicals only now rebel against.

If you tithe 10% of your earnings to the church and the government starts taking more money out of your wallet, it will be difficult to continue to be charitable, no? What better mechanism is there than Christian organizations regarding the re-distribution of wealth, than their own contributions? When a congregation provides support for its parishioners in trouble, do they refer to them as lazy, shiftless bums?

I get a lot of these and I LOVE them. I answer almost every one of them. Throw it right back at them. I'm now off a few email lists but I don't care. The writer in his opening paragraphs makes the same point I often make - show me ONE of these rants against Bush or the Rethuglicans from a liberal or progressive. Never once did anyone take that challenge.

<i>"..the Walton family, of Wal-Mart fame, is wealthier than the bottom third of the US population put together – about 100m people."</i> - Financial Times, 30 June 2009

[CLANG]

124. Congrats! knob-gobbler and nutsac in the same post!

And both used correctly!:rofl:

[voteearlyvoteoften]

26. Good Job!

[we can do it]

27. Can I Use This? I'm About Due For An UglyAss Liefest In Multicolor 240 pt type

[sendero]

28. Excellent work..

... they are liars just like every con man is a liar.

[City Lights]

29. K, R, & B.

:thumbsup:

[BlancheSplanchnik]

30. I LOVE this !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love how you worded it, love that you sent it, LOVE IT LOVE IT!

Ha, it'd make a good LTTE too. Especially to debunk the many spam-brained LTTE's that get published......

I read "Team of Rivals" and learned that Lincoln also had a lot of opposition and there was a LOT of despicable activity going on against him and other Republicans (at that time, Democrats were the conservatives and Republicans the progressives, I learned.)

Conservatives plague us in every age, it seems.

[conscious evolution]

31. Excellant responce

Truth is the antidote to black propoganda.

[madokie]

32. I have zero patience for lies

I'll catch a lie within a few words spoken most times. When I meet someone new I listen to what they're saying not to the message necessarily but to whether they talk truthfully or not. If that person is talking in half truths, bull shit and out right lies I believe not one word they will ever say again. I'm sixty one damn near sixty two and this has served me well throughout the years.

[Mopar151]

85. I hear ya, Okie

I'm a machinist by trade - truth and fact are not flexible concepts to me, they can be mathematically and physically proven, with calibrated, traceable standards.
The car salesman I deal with has been prepared by my friend, his service manager. No Flim-flam, no jim-jam. I worked at a car lot years ago, I know most of the games and don't want to play 'em. Oddly enough, this, and a good joke for the service writers, gets the wife and I royal treatment.

[wakemewhenitsover]

33. Fantastic!

:yourock: :headbang:

[DisgustedInMN]

34. Though I'm right with you about how easily ..

... some people are taken in by this kind of crap, what REALLY hurts...

Is when you find that you have been used by people you thought were your allies, shared your values, and had a common vision for the future of this Great Nation. Only to watch them do exactly what they had railed against during their bid for the office they now hold.

But that's probably just me.

[lindaqqq]

65. Disgusted

Disgusted and PO'd

[Tailormyst]

35. Fantastic email

[HughMoran]

36. Good for you

I'm getting tired of the ridiculous right-wing rhetoric - and it's starting to hurt the Dems. Gotta love the 'low information' voters :eyes:

[phiddle]

39. "Conservative"= All con and no serve

[johnaries]

129. Wait, if Pro means "for" and Con" means against,

then "Conservative" must mean "against serving".

Based on the old Gallagher joke "If 'con' is the opposite of 'pro' and 'Progress' means 'moving forward' then what does 'Congress' mean?"

[Skittles]

40. absolutely wonderful response

K&R

[tandot]

41. I was just discussing with my husband yesterday that all the spam we get

are from conservatives, full of lies, and that we've never gotten a liberal spam email.

Actually, we mostly got the spams from an uncle. After we emailed him back several times with proof that the email consisted of lies, he now forwards us those emails asking us to check if it's true or false before forwarding them to others.

[louis-t]

66. Ah, a glimmer of hope!

[shellgame26]

127. no kidding?

:rofl:

[SidDithers]

42. Great response!...

and I hope you hit Reply All when you sent it :applause:

Sid

[Gregorian]

43. Humans tend to be liberal. They care about each other. And thanks for clearing something up for me.

Whenever I see a FWD: in the subject of my email, I get angry, and then delete it. But now I am conscious of why I hate the FWD: emails. They are almost always conservative chain emails.

[Orsino]

44. The majority of the country IS conservative.

Just nowhere near as conservative as the MSM would have us be.

[krabigirl]

54. The majority of the country may be conservative, but not the type the GOP is.

People might be conservative in that they don't like the government in their business...which the GOP is the master of doing.

[TrogL]

101. They're authoritarian, not "conservative"

[glitch]

45. Absolutely perfect! nt

[berni_mccoy]

46. Well done. K&R

[Beetwasher]

47. SPANKED!

:thumbsup:

[pansypoo53219]

48. but critical THINKING skills are critically lacking in amerika.

AND DO NOT FORGET THE AWESOME POWER OF CAPS + EXCLAMATION POINTS!

[GreenPartyVoter]

74. elevens!!!1111!!!!

[change_notfinetuning]

49. There you go again - baffling them with, um . . . facts. Great response. n/t

[bongbong]

51. I see the same thing every day

I'm a member of a hobby notorious for conservative leanings among the members. Nice folks, but ignorant as hell about politics. A number of the people that regularly post on chatboards devoted to that hobby include sig lines with quote attributed to Founding Fathers, Abe, etc, that are actually quotes from right wing terrorists.

So, I'm quite familiar with the phenomenon that the OP states.

Punchier version of the OP retort: "The quote above was not said by XXXXX. It was said by YYYYY (source: http: ZZZZZ) Why do conservatives insult the intelligence of Americans by lying?"

BTW, I have no family or friends that forward me right wing terrorist emails. I kinda wish I did so I could blast everyone on the cc: list back (of course stupid right wingers have never heard of bcc:)

[drmeow]

119. Actually, they have heard of bcc

after I reply all'd to a couple of my uncle's he started using bcc for all his forwards (I don't get his political ones anymore but I still get some of the stupid sexist ones). But it takes a couple of serious embarrassments for them to find the bcc!

[Dr.Phool]

52. I hit "Reply All", Debunk it and send

I got one the other day citing the 28th Amendment to the Constitution.

5 seconds on Google, and I sent a link to the Constitution, with it's 27 amendments.

[beac]

53. Bravo! K&R!! n/t

[Ignis]

55. Well done!

:patriot:

[crispini]

56. I love you.

:yourock:

[Turbineguy]

58. There was one as I understand it.

There was a story that Reagan in his autobiography had referred to George W Bush as "your ne'er do well son" to Poppy. That was not true.

[LoZoccolo]

59. This post is now on the front page. n/t

[NewJeffCT]

60. Great response, but they count on 95% of the people not fact-checking them

if not more than 95%

[TomClash]

61. You get them because they believe this:

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”

[mzmolly]

62. You rock! Happy to K and R.

:toast: to you, good citizen! ;)

[mzmolly]

63. BTW, I've often wondered if we should start a discussion area for just these

emails?

[lindaqqq]

64. reply to all

I did the reply/all also.
You would think the facts that I replied with would have been enough to make him stop sending me his crap but it wasn't until I pointed out how he couldn't even spell simple words and that he finally stopped sending me anything.
He also blocked my email.
My brother hasn't talked to me since!

[wryter2000]

92. Welcome to DU

:hi:

[The Backlash Cometh]

67. Brilliant. Just brilliant.

[Richardo]

68. Nice work.

:applause:

[pleah]

69. K&R

[Mad_Dem_X]

72. Excellent! Terrific response! n/t

[wicket]

73. Awesome!

:yourock:

And bookmarked...

[Spazito]

75. Well done!

Recommended!

[The_Commonist]

76. Huh... You're right.

Now that I think about it, I've never gotten a lie-filled mass email from a liberal.
The few conservatives that I know won't send their crap anymore, 'cause I always call them out, as quickly and forcefully as possible. In fact, I haven't gotten one of those in years!

Good response...

[proud2BlibKansan]

77. Outstanding! Have you received their latest lie/email?

Remember that essay Lee Iacoco wrote about 3 years ago slamming Dubya? Well they have taken that speech and selectively edited it to put in Obama's name and make it appear Iacoc was writing about Obama. I got it this morning.

Lie lie lie - it's all the wingnuts know how to do.

[tiredtoo]

78. After reading this I checked my email

and lo and behold I had received one concerning a petition to stop giving Social Security to illegals. I checked with snopes and found it listed as false. I then sent a reply all out with similar wording and included a link to the snopes page. Why oh why must the repugs lie so much ?

[Mopar151]

86. They have a little trouble

Distinguishing "TRUE" and "wish it were true"

[TrogL]

103. They are not fact or evidence based

They are so afraid of reality they live in their own little made-up world - an echo-chamber like Free Republic.

A few years ago, my father blew a literally foaming at the mouth, screaming, insane temper tantrum including hitting my wife. I eventually got everybody settled down and decided against calling the police (they're useless in that town anyway) and pretty much sent everybody to their rooms.

A few minutes later my mother announced that my father was "the most even-tempered man in the world" and denied that the incident ever happened.

[wryter2000]

93. Welcome to DU

And good for you for correcting that lie. :hi:

[gorfle]

79. Awesome!

I'd love to know what your responses were.

[RoccoR5955]

80. K & R... good response to the Con noise machine!

[treestar]

82. Good job!

Why anyone would believe something because it's in an email is beyond me. Seems rife for the spreading of lies.

And have these people never heard of the electoral college? :rofl: There are more people in cities. That does not make them less American.

[redqueen]

83. Well done.

:thumbsup:

[left of center]

87. I've noticed the same thing

In my view, this reflects conservatives' long tradition of anti-intellectualism. Their stratagists actually don't believe all the junk, but that does not stop them from using it as a weapon to work their fearful and ignorant base into a frenzy!

[LuckyLib]

88. My hubby sent this response to a continual flood of junk from one "friend."

"Don't send us this crap any more. It is religious and Republican, and we are neither."

[wryter2000]

90. Awesome

I'd like to forward this to all my lists. :applause: Except I don't have lists.

In my experience, liberals don't sent out blanket e-mails, true or false. We're much too polite to clutter up people's e-mails with spam.

Also, in my experience, liberals are perfectly comfortable refraining from discussing politics in non-political venues. In just about every case I've ever seen, it's a conservative who breaks the rule against political discussions.

[Initech]

91. I have two relatives - one is ultra-liberal and the other is ultra-conservative

It's fun watching then fight back and forth. :popcorn:

[DirtyDawg]

94. I too received the one...

...supposedly from the Law Professor breaking down the election results. You failed to mention that in addition to this guy never having said any of it, the numbers were actually from the 2000 election, and even then they weren't accurate. The one I received closed with two options...one, if you like it forward it...and, two, if you are apathetic to what's going on, like too many Americans, delete it. I replied with a third option, 'if you know it to be a pack of goddamn lies, then reply to it and tell them to take your name off their 'effin' list.'

Of course, this wasn't from family, or even friends, just a former high-school classmate that wound up with an email list, so I won't have to deal with the reaction to my reaction.

[DWilliamsamh]

95. K & R...and I too would love to see replies you get , if any!

I have done this and replied to all in the past and almost NEVER get a response. Theses people are pathetic and would be laughable if it wasn't for the unfortunate fact that hey actually do influence people too lazy to do some basic fact checking, but nonetheless vote in our elections.

[scheming daemons]

96. WOW! Looks like I struck a nerve

thanks for all the recs, everyone

[Fragile Habitat]

97. Where do I go to start feeding my Republican Nuts pro administration Stuff?

I am as well sick of the crap but I want to tell them the truth. Is there any internet feed that I can start sending to all of the Obama haters and liars that tells the truth about what we are doing good and showing how bad the republicans have screwed us?

[Lint Head]

98. This is fantastic! I hope you don't mind if I use you email as a template

I can tailor to replies I make to the bigoted spam I receive.

Thanks!

[Catshrink]

100. Good job! I used to send corrections with a snopes link

but my wingnut sister and her even wingnuttier husband started suppressing the recipient list so the reply all doesn't help any more. I finally told my BIL to stop sending the crap because it was basically a pack of lies that could be easily debunked -- and he didn't even have to get off his fat ass to do it, he could just use the internet. Fortunately I get very few now - occasionally he forgets and includes me.

[malaise]

104. Absolutely brilliant

:yourock:

[malaise]

105. dupe

:yourock:

[Martin Eden]

110. Absolutely needed to be said -- and you said it superbly!!!

K&R :yourock:

[The Animator]

111. The only liberal chain mail I ever got...

Was the "How many is a Brazilian?" Joke...

[husky92]

112. I Loved It...It was Awesome...

Let me join many others and saying what a great response. I have a bunch of wingnut friends and a right-wing brother-in-law with several similar friends and relatives. They constantly send me e-mail slamming Obama, Pelosi, Reid and liberals as the ones who are the root of all evil. As I like to say, where were all these e-mailers/spammers when Bush/Cheney were in charge! I think many are racially motivated towards Obama. As others have said, almost all are full of falsehoods that these people send to anyone who thinks like them. Unfortunately, there are many people like this as we have seen from all these tea parties, town hall meetings, etc. There are a lot of angry white people out there, most of whom have been fed a line of bullshit from friends and others who send these totally false e-mails out. As someone said, people read them and believe everything as fact. What I've taken to doing is going to sites like FactCheck.org that dispels most of this bullshit. I do a search on the site about what they've sent me and then copy the truth off FactCheck.org and paste it in an e-mail with a note from me saying "I suggest you do some additional research on what you sent to out before sending it out to people". I make sure I also send it to the person who originally sent it out since it is usually a trail of e-mails forwarded with a note to read it and pass it on. I've gotten a couple of somewhat nasty e-mails back from people, but I could care less. I hate when people spread lies like they do and I am not going to sit idly by. As I mentioned, we never saw this crap when the previous administration was in power. I actually get a lot of satisfaction when I do this!

[barbtries]

113. very well done

i hope you included links. and expect that you will not receive any more of their BS.

[ThoughtCriminal]

115. It goes beyond emails - forums, blogs and letters recycle it

Take any of the popular Right-Wing email spams and plug a key phrase from it into a search. The exact same text will appear in hundreds or even thousands of forums, blogs, comments letters-to-the-editor and even newspaper op-eds. People read them and then cut and paste them word-for-word into their on-line debates and rants. Only rarely do they get called on this mindless plagiarism of bogus information, but when they do, it's sometimes hilarious when they try to defend it.

[Historic NY]

I've done the reply all a few times its works.....

a few people don't seem to appreciate it so they got forever blocked.

[Historic NY]

116. I've done the reply all a few times its works.....

a few people don't seem to appreciate it so they got forever blocked.

[Styxiv]

117. FUNNY

The responce I usually get when I reply and call them out is "I can't talk to you you're too full of hate" GOD I HATE THAT!! I respond saying "how am I full of hate" Tell me ONE responce I sent back if a lie or full of hate. Don't dodge my questions if I'm wrong tell me why and with PROOF and not another Beck/Hannity bullcrap. Find the ACTUAL FACT (you know those nasty things that give in the way of a good smear).

They never respond because THEY CAN'T!!! They simply pass along as you said crap thats bee nsent to them AND they believe it and oculd care less about the REAL facts.

[Mopar151]

134. I got a "I'm not going to get into a debate with you."

Then a bunch more RW spew - which I politely debunked. Then I had to explain to her son (far more edumicated than I) the meaning of CHARLATAN and 2) how quotation marks work.

[KathieG]

118. Wow, outstanding response.

:applause:

[dorktv]

120. I once patiently wrote up a refutation of the SS one with the congresscritters

And when I pointed out where I got the information from, they said it obviously was wrong since it came from the US government.

[laughingliberal]

121. k& r nt

[TrollBuster9090]

122. MEDIA MATTERS VIRAL EMAIL RESOURCES

I guess most of you know about the MEDIA MATTERS website that keeps track of these dumbass conservative viral emails, and composes fact checked and reference linked rebuttals that you can spam back? It's a great website designed to respond to specific viral emails as they come out.

http://mediamattersaction.org/emailchecker/


The fact checking and links are great, but I'd recommend rewording the response letters a little so that it isn't so obvious they came from the same source.

[iris27]

132. Wow - I did NOT know about this site! Awesome!

I mean, I knew about Media Matters, but not about the e-mail debunking site...this is great! Thanks for the heads-up!

[Cass]

133. What a great resource...thank you for this link!

Welcome to DU!

[mnhtnbb]

123. I was pushed over the edge by my SIL prior to the election.

I used to politely reply--only to her--with a Snopes link suggesting that she do the same before
distributing the next piece of crap. The next time she sent one with some of the most blatant lies
I finally hit reply all with the debunking. Wow. That brought out a 'friend' of hers who gave me
an etiquette lesson about 'reply all'. Supercilious, self-righteous, smug bitch!

Well, I thought that would stop the SIL from sending me her crap. No. She sent another
one with lies about Obama that were beyond the pale. I did reply all again, which brought
out the same etiquette bitch, and I replied by blocking my SIL's e-mail.

She stayed blocked for close to a year. I unblocked her several months ago but have
only responded matter of factly to a couple of e-mails. I don't initiate anything with her.

I do still correspond with my brother and several of their grown kids.

I really got fed up.

She is, of course, a good "Christian". Sings in her church choir and is president of some
board of her church. She's a total hypocrite, in my book. Screw her. I'd known her 40 some
years and had my fill of her, so I have no regrets about breaking off with her. None.

[many a good man]

125. Kicked, recommended, and bookmarked

:kick:

[shellgame26]

126. I have a similar story

My friend who lives in Florida started forwarding me some conservative emails. I finally got fed up after I received one about Mexican children taking resources away from white children.. blah blah blah...it was hateful and disgusting and it ended with the writer asking "aren't you angry now?". SO I sent a detailed response to everyone on the list about wasteful spending by the government on wars. I made sure to include links with sources from newspapers. I mentioned when we were told that $9 billion were packed like footballs, tossed around and then...poof. Lost! I ended with the same question: Aren't you angry now???

Later I got one response. It was a list of childish zingers about why Hillary Clinton would be a bad president (this was back in '07).

I never received another conservative email.

[Cass]

128. Really great stuff, scheming daemons...my hat is off to you!

This is the best reponse I have ever seen to those ridiculous emails...excellent work!

I have replied all, I've sent Snopes links, composed rebuttal letters and its all to no avail...it just keeps on coming. They know I don't share their political ideolgy, so why do they continue to send me their junk. Ugh.

[progressoid]

130. GREAT letter...

I think I might try that idea on some of the crap I keep receiving from RWers if you don't mind.



However, isn't the saying, "swallow it hook, line, and sinker"? :shrug:

[iris27]

131. If it's ok, I am SO saving this for the next time I get one of these e-mails...

When was the last time you got a spam email from a liberal - with blatantly MADE UP facts... facts that are easily refuted with a 30-second google search?

Indeed.