Dear Friends - this is a very important message that we all should take seriously. Please read and take action as your faith suggests! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Please take the time to read this...... It has very important....critical information for Christians.

Madeline Murray O'Hare, an atheist, successfully eliminated the use of Bible reading and prayer from schools fifteen years ago. Her organization has now been granted a Federal hearing on the same subject by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) in Washington, D.C.

Their petition, No. 2493, would ultimately pave the way to stop the reading of the Gospel of our Lord and Savior, on the airwaves of America; and CBS will be forced to discontinue "Touched by an Angel" for using the word "GOD" in every program.

They took this petition with 287,000 signatures to back their stand. If this attempt is successful, all Sunday Worship services being broadcast either by radio or television will stop. This group is also campaigning to remove all Christmas Programs, Christmas songs and Christmas carols from public schools! You Can Help!

We are praying for at least one million signed letters. This would defeat their effort and show that there are many Christians alive, well and concerned in our country. Please print this letter then cut off and sign the form below. PLEASE DO NOT SIGN JOINTLY, such as Mr., Mrs. Each person should sign one letter separately, and mail it in separate envelopes. Be sure to put Petition 2495 on the envelope when you mail the letter. This has to go out regular mail. It is very important that letters are mailed right away. __________________________________________________________________________________________

Date: __________________

Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20054 Re: Petition 2493,2495

Dear Sirs:

I am an American and am very thankful for my American Heritage. Our forefathers founded this country under premise of a strong belief and faith in God and his principles. I am also very much aware of the role that our Christian faith has played in the freedom that we Americans now enjoy.

Therefore, I protest any effort to remove from radio or television, programs designed to nurture faith in God, or to remove Christmas programs, Christmas songs and Christmas carols from public airwaves, schools, office buildings, etc., as proposed in petition 2493 or 2495.

Sincerely,

Name: _________________________________ Address: _________________________________ City & St._________________________________ zip code __________________

-- Nadine Zint (nadine@hillsboro.net), April 07, 2000

Answers

Ah yes, another urban myth. What exactly was it that P.T. Barnum said was born every minute?

-- E.H. Porter (Just Wondering@About.it), April 07, 2000.

Exactly, E.H. All one had to do was use a search engine to find that this hoax has been going on now for 20 years....with the "Touched By an Angel" portion being included in the recent version.

More information on this hoax can be found here

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), April 07, 2000.

Thanks for enlightening me about the hoax. I had never heard of it but there has been some discussion on TV lately about banning religious programming so it sounded plausible to me when I received the e-mail. I also wish to thank you for being so polite. The good manners of the posters is what makes it such a pleasure to post to this board.

-- Nadine Zint (nadine@hillsboro.net), April 07, 2000.

A good rule of thumb is to suspect any type of petition or mass email, postcard, donation campaign, or warning (especially computer virus warnings) you receive via email. This is especially true if the message urges you to PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW. The site Anita referenced is an excellent resource to check out these hoaxes and save yourself some time and energy.

Also, if you've determined that you have received a hoax, and it is from someone you know (as opposed to an anonymous spam message, then don't simply ignore the message. In this case, you SHOULD respond to the sender, informing him/her of the hoax and indeed, urge them to PASS ON THE INFORMATION "up the line" so to speak. It is only this way that we can really increase awareness of these urban legends, and perhaps put a stop to them someday. One can always hope!!

-- (hmm@hmm.hmm), April 07, 2000.

Maybe the first clue should have been the incorrect spelling of the name - Madeline Murray O'Hare vs the correct Madalyn Murray O'Hair . The second clue should have been the fact that poor Madalyn has been missing and presumed dead for about the past 10 years and her organization no longer exists.

My rule of thumb or these types of e-mails is to count the exclamation points. More than one exclamation point = hoax.

-- Jim Cooke (JJCooke@yahoo.com), April 07, 2000.

Ohair has been missing and presumed dead for some time now. There was an estate sale last year (or 98) to pay back taxes owed.

If there is such a thing as Karma, she got hers in spades.

-- (Athiests@are.the.losers.in.the.end), April 07, 2000.

Oh, I see we posted at the same time.

more on "reverse mailing" to people who forward memes and urban legends. Thats a great article on educating people on what NOT to do with thought contaigons.

-- (Athiests@are.the.losers.in.the.end), April 07, 2000.

Hey thanks for the heads up, and I agree with atheiests for the record.

Not only did she 'poof get gone, but w/lotza $$$$$'

again thanks anita, and eh...

-- consumer (shh@aol.com), April 07, 2000.

To be fair, the police and FBI believe that Madelyn Murray-O'Hair was killed by a Christian who absconded with the money and buried them on her land. While she did indeed disappear at the same time as the money, the evidence leans toward abduction (no clothes packed, food still cooking, furniture in disarray, signs of a struggle, etc.).

-- Tarzan the Ape Man (tarzan@swingingthroughthejunglewithouta.net), April 07, 2000.

Hey Tarz,

Not to be a smartass or nothin, but with that kinda money what would she need to pack, other than the cash dude..?????

-- consumer (shh@aol.com), April 07, 2000.

No personal items were missing, no wedding photos, no jewelry, not even a change of clothes. They didn't even take their medication with them. The police reported that sources close to O'Hair named several personal items which she had stated often were things she could not live without, all of which were left behind.

The police usually look for the abscence of personal items as a clue to disappearance rather than abduction. Most often, people who are trying to disappear take at least a few personal items, even if they don't pack for a long trip.

-- Tarzan the Ape Man (tarzan@swingingthroughthejunglewithouta.net), April 07, 2000.

Tarzan:

Not to mention that most EVERYONE would turn off their stove!

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), April 07, 2000.

Hey,

heres an idea about the stove, perhaps she was getting ready for where she was headed anyhow........(veg)

-- consumer (shh@aol.com), April 07, 2000.

She had several much loved pets which were left behind. People who knew her say that if she was alive, then she would have taken the dogs with her.

-- Lynn Ratcliffe (mcgrew@ntr.net), April 07, 2000.

I concur, almost all of those email "petitions" are hoaxes. The one about the email tax, HR. 9902, did turn out to be valid, however, and now we have only the Senate to hopefully keep our free speach "free"!

-- FactFinder (FactFinder@bzn.com), April 07, 2000.