A little Internet tip for those of you who don't know it already. Snopes.com, aka the Urban Legends Reference Page, will help you to find out if that e-mail petition or an enraged call to write your congresspeople or a plea to donate a free mammogram or receive a free iPod is a valid cause or not. It is basically a search engine that will tell you if the message at hand is true or false and explain where and/or when the message originated and what it usually contains.

For example, today I received this message:

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Hello All,

On NPR's Morning Edition last week, Nina Tottenberg said that if the
Supreme Court supports Congress, it is in effect the end of the
National Public Radio (NPR), National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and
the Public Broadcasting System (PBS). PBS, NPR and the arts are facing
major cutbacks in funding. In spite of the efforts of each station to
reduce spending costs and streamline their services, some government
officials believe that the funding currently going to these programs
is too large a portion of funding for something which is seen as not
worthwhile.

The only way that our representatives can be aware of the base of
support for PBS and funding for these types of programs is by making
our voices heard.

Please add your name to this list and forward it to friends who
believe in what this stands for

This list will be forwarded to the President and the Vice President of
the United States. This petition is being passed around the Internet.

Please add your name to it so that funding can be maintained for NPR,
PBS, and the NEA.

HOW TO SIGN FORWARD: IT'S EASY

Please keep this petition rolling. Do not reply to me. Please sign and
forward to others to sign. If you prefer not to sign, please send to
the e-mail address indicated below.

DON'T WORRY ABOUT DUPLICATES. This is being forwarded to several
people at once to add their names to the petition. It doesn't matter
if many people receive the same list as the names are being managed.

This is for anyone who thinks NPR, PBS and the NEA is a worthwhile
expenditure of $1.12/year of their taxes.

If you happen to be the 150th, 200th, 250th, etc., signer of this
petition, please forward a copy to: wein2688@blue.univnorthco.edu This
way we can keep track of the lists and organize them. Forward this to
everyone you know, and help us to keep these programs alive. Thank
you!

NOTE: It is preferable that you SELECT (highlight) the entirety of
this Letter and then COPY it into a new outgoing message, rather than
simply forwarding in your new outgoing message, add your name to the
bottom of the list, then send it on.

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Fighting the urge to curse the Bushocracy once more and send this petition on, I went to Snopes to find out more. Here's what Snopes had to say. In any case, it is a funny site to poke around in and will make you crave the forwards like it's your first month having e-mail.