The private citizen, beset by partisan appeals for the loan of his Public Opinion, will soon see, perhaps, that these appeals are not a compliment to his intelligence, but an imposition on his good nature and an insult to his sense of evidence.  Walter Lippman

Is Lippman referring to the propaganda masked as a survey which is foisted upon us by telephone during dinner time?

We are angry, but how much are we to blame? Most Montebelloans are angry with Athens Disposal and certain city councilors because of the rubbish-hauling contract concluded this year. But when we consider recycling, Athens has apparently done a better job than we residents did over the past few years. Yes, some residents would recycle, but, even then, the wrong things would be put in the red and blue bins. However, I wonder how much city hall was to blame for our poor recycling. I was unaware of any attempt by city hall to effectively motivate and / or organize residents to recycle. On the other hand, I would rather that we residents motivated and organized ourselves. So, how much are we to blame?

My parents the doctors. My folks have a small pharmacy in the house, in light of all the prescription and over-the-counter drugs which they keep in the cupboards. They and friends exchange medicine to help one another. I was not happy when they sent Celebrex to a relative in Armenia, given the danger associated with the drug. With regard to following a real doctor's advice, we read the following in AARP Bulletin, November, 2009: A study of accidental deaths in the United States reveals a troubling new trend: the death rate for white women ages 45 to 64 from unintentional poisoning—most commonly by prescription drug abuse—more than tripled between 1999 and 2005. …

Dealing with diabetes need not be boring. Want a diet to prevent diabetes? How about a couple of cocktails, balsamic marinated pork and a cup of espresso? Those are among many foods that can help lower type 2 diabetes risk, says the updated "Healthy Eating for Type 2 Diabetes." The Harvard Medical School report notes that drinking coffee cuts diabetes risk by up to 42 percent and that drinking alcohol drops diabetes risk by up to 43 percent. … AARP Bulletin, November, 2009.

Are we choking inside the box? Should we start thinking outside the box for means by which to mete out justice? We read that in 2006, state courts had over seventeen million civil cases and over twenty-one million criminal cases. Federal courts in 2008 had over two hundred sixty thousand civil cases and over seventy thousand criminal cases. AARP Bulletin, November, 2009.

Computer users, beware. They claim to be Internet security watchdogs offering help with a computer virus you mistakenly downloaded. Their real intention: to get remote access to your files. It's the "tech support scam", a ruse that has made headlines overseas and now is quietly targeting computer users in this country. It starts with a phone call from someone claiming to be from a software provider such as Microsoft, Norton or McAfee, or your computer's manufacturer. (Other callers say they represent Support on Click, a firm based in India.) You are told that your computer has a virus and may be in danger of losing all stored data, but the caller can help avoid that—if you follow his instructions. Don't take the bait. ... AARP Bulletin, November, 2009.

Something is not right here. How much does each of these countries spend on health care per person, on average? United States, $7,290; Great Britain, $2,992; Germany, $3,588; Canada, $3,595; Japan, $2,561. How many deaths were there which could have been prevented in a population of 100,000? United States, 110; Great Britain, 103; Germany, 90; Canada, 77; Japan, 71. We spend twice as much as Canada, but Canada's health care keeps more people alive. Could this be because Canadians come to the United States for certain treatments? If so, it would keep the Canadian rate relatively low, but would that skew the rate in the United States in the other direction? AARP Bulletin, November, 2009.

The second entry for the top-ten list.  In a past issue, we mentioned the Web site of the Better Business Bureau as something to which everyone's computer should be linked.  A second link should be to at least one of the credible "hoax busting" Web sites which examine the validity of e-mail messages. In this regard, my sister e-mailed me recently about one of the hoax-busting Web sites, as somebody had claimed that the site had a strong bias which impugned its credibility as an impartial source. However, the claim seemed to be an attack to undermine the site as a valuable resource. What should we do when strong claims or appeals are made to us via computer? The rule is that the larger the impact which a claim or appeal could have, the greater the scrutiny we should direct toward the claim or appeal.

How important is it to check sources? We are in the habit of believing what we read, but to do so without checking is dangerous. The e-mail mentioned in the paragraph immediately above had several false statements in it. There is much disinformation and misinformation, whether as propaganda, pranks or poor research, which we receive by e-mail. I received an e-mail recently, from a prankster or propagandist, which said that a present-day US Senator was related to a horse thief of over a hundred years ago.