Fact, Fodder, or Fertilizer - is that Data True or False?

Ever receive one of those emails blaming Al Gore for not ridding the world of Osama Bin Laden before the 911 attacks? How about pictures of Sarah Palin wearing a bikiniand holding an assault rifle? Which side will benefit the most from the faux Koch-Walker phone conversation with impending recall referendums just around the corner?

The upcoming budget fights, recall drives, and political maneuvering for the 2012 election demands extra vigilance as we sift through the propaganda we will be besieged by in the months ahead. Only the deceased can avoid being assailed by the odor of political manure when the onslaught of emails, TV attack ads, and other media noise permeates the air in an attempt to sway our opinions.

Regardless of which political party you may be partial to, please keep in mind that BOTH parties have intimate relationships (plural) with big business. Please rent the movie Inside Job if you need further proof of the aforementioned and the illicit association between the financial undustry, politicians, and the superficially unbiased experts they hired to spin their web of deceit.

The motivation of each and every politician, besides making their corporate lobbyist happy, will be to keep their job or take that of their opponent. Whether we like it or not, we will be part of an ugly new chapter in history as big business and labor duke it out to gain more control, or perhaps regain what they lost this past year. Make no mistake about it, both sides will stop at nothing and use every dirty trick (some not even invented yet) to discredit the opposition.

Over the last decade we have seen ruthless war mongers break the law to further their agenda. A sad but excellent example of that truth can be seen in the film Fair Game or read in the book the movie was based on, "Fair Game" by Valerie Plame. Her husband, Joe Wilson wrote "The Politics of Truth", which revealed chilling evidence that the right wing resorted to treason-like actions to destroy the career of a loyal public servant who stood in their way - regardless of the fact that their unconscionable actions actually weakened our national security.

Before you click forward on the next email that proclaims Obama was sworn into office with the Quran, be sure to check out this article on the popular Snopes.com website. You can also use Snopes to disprove the get-rich-quick guarantee of forwarding the address of all your friends and family to AOL & Microsoft .

Want to learn the truth on Planned Parenthood abortions as they relate to our federal tax dollars? Did President Obama exaggerate the impact of GOP budget cuts on US residents during his recent budget speech? Be sure to check out those topics and many others on the Factcheck.org website . Factcheck is a non-profit organization dedicated to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. Need more help to determine what it will take to fix our school debacle and which statistics to believe? A month ago I watched Waiting for Superman which helped me better understand the problem and what might work to fix it. Parents, taxpayers, and voters need to see this movie before the next election or referendum!

Would you like to know if there is any truth to the email circulating that congress pays no social security? Truthorfiction is another website you can use to help you make good decisions on politics or to refute or verify other information floating around on the airwaves or Internet. Do you really know whether illegal immigrant pay social security taxes? ProCon.org is another organization helpful in deciphering issues that matter to those of us concerned enough to dig a little deeper BEFORE we spout off and forward what could be misinformation to others.