Critically examine the characteristics,tactics, opponents and policy Essay

Critically examine the characteristics,tactics, opponents and policy impact of the NRA(National Riffle Assoc) - interest group operating in the USA today - Essay Example These include army officers, police officers and sheriffs while they also participate in occasions meant to compete in shooting skills. The organization has set programs meant to keep off violent criminals’ incorporation with the law. These programs include CrimeStrike that was introduced in order to eliminate gangs and other unwanted people from the streets of America and be convicted as per the crimes they commit. The other program introduced is the Eddie Eagle meant for children that creates public awareness on the importance of observing the laws stipulated against possession of guns and how to protect one self. This program gives warnings such as Stop or Don’t Touch signs put at places where these guns are kept in the house. Other programs educate adults such as skilled hunters, shooters and people who possess ammunition for the sake of their safety such as security gourds. Most foreigners have been surprised by the way most Americans prefer to own guns. Antagonists view the Second Amendment as stated by the constitution on the ownership of guns as a cause for the problem. The statement reads that as well as a military officer lawfully allowed to posses a gun, then owning guns has to be a right to all and must not be prohibited. There have been recent debates on ways of controlling guns to the public but this has brought no change in US we daily find shooting cases on the media. This evidence shows that there is a very strong correlation between violence and accessibility of ammunitions. Some federal laws initiated in 1970s due to the assassinations of high people in government for instance Martin Luther King. Later other policies were also set up as a result of several assassination cases. It is for these reasons that Brandy Bill has to take time while issuing out guns to the public. This helps to analyse the

American civil rights movements, why do they form refer to different Essay

American civil rights movements, why do they form refer to different perspectives and use examples to illustrate your points - Essay Example It was able to institute that any form of discrimination was unjust and cannot be put up with, in any place within the country. This also set out a clear example to the oppressed groups around the county and other nations. The black people needed to have the same opportunities in education and working places. They also needed to have equal rights to vote and choose the leaders of their own like (Jarrett 2011). For a long time, it has been not easy for them to get a possibility to move away from the ghetto and be able to get decent jobs. Many of the schools were also segregated, and this made it difficult for the blacks to get good and better education. Moreover, the police forces mostly treated the blacks with contempt and violent behaviour. African Americans and other races that were being oppressed refused this form of rule and decided to defend themselves against it. They sought chances through lawsuits, political redress and other organisations that would fight and stand for thei r rights. The Reasons why the American civil rights Movements were Formed American civil rights movements were protests that were brought out by a group of many people who were against racial inequity in the United States of America. These movements were taken to be organised activities, which worked with an objective to achieve a better end in terms of the relations within the society. These movements took place during a period when the African American rights in the United States of America were being undermined by the whites. The African Americans decided to rally for the legal, political and cultural changes that do prohibits the discrimination of any race (Feinstein 2012). Different groups of citizens have been fighting for the fundamental rights in the American constitution. Because of their skin colour, the black people were not able to receive the same rights and privileges as the whites did. The social unrest that led to the civil rights movements was brought about by these injustices. Over the years in the American history, some courageous African American individuals decided to stand up and lead thousands of the oppressed people against the discrimination they were facing. Rosa Parks After she left the Maxwell Air Force Base, Rosa Parks worked for a couple named Clifford and Virginia Durr. After getting along with them, the couple sponsored her studies at Highlander Folk School in 1955. In essence, the school was a center designed to educate the black community about racial equality and the rights of the workers. Rosa’s quench for fight against racial discrimination was triggered by the murder of Emmett Till, a 14 year old black male, who was murdered by white men who suspected that he had flirted with a white woman (Eagles et al 1986). In addition, after Rosa took a job at the Montgomery Fair Department store, she witnessed a series of racial discrimination especially in buses, which she used to travel in to and from work. At that time, Blac ks were not allowed to sit at the front row seats. These were reserved for whites. To make the situation worse, if the whites bonded the bus and found that the bus was full, and the blacks were discriminated. With such deliberations, Rosa and other activists in

Philosophy of Law: Common Law vs Statute Law

Philosophy of Law: Common Law vs Statute Law Joana Mae Lico George Fletcher writes that there are three components of law, and those are statutes, cases, and writings about law. Each law has a role they play in our understanding on how law legal systems operate. A statute is a written law accepted by a legislature on the state or federal level. Statutes established forth general propositions of law that courts apply to specific circumstances. A statute may prohibit a certain act, direct a certain act, make a declaration, or create forth governmental mechanisms to aid society. A statue starts as a bill proposed or supported by a legislator. If the proposal survives the legislative committee process and is acknowledged by both parties of the legislature, it will become a law when it is signed by the executive officer. When a bill becomes law, the several provisions in the bill are called statutes. The term statute indicates the advancement of a bill from legislative proposal to law. State and federal are together in statutory codes that assembl e the statutes by subject. These codes are available at law libraries and are published in book form. Lawmaking powers entrusted mainly in elected officials in the legislative branch. The entrusting of the chief lawmaking power in selected lawmakers is the essence of a representative democracy. Apart from the federal and state constitution statutes passed by elected lawmakers are the first laws to check in finding the law that involves to a case. As legislative enactments, statutory trail the usual process of legislation. A bill is presented in the legislature and chosen upon. If permitted, it passes to the executive branch (either a governor at the state level or the president at the federal level). If the executive signs the bill it passes into law as a statute. If the executive fails or declines to sign the bill, it can be rejected and sent back to the legislature. In most instances, if the legislature again permits the bill by an established margin it becomes a statute. Statutes are not consistent and unalterable. A statute may be changed or cancelled by the lawmaking associates that proposed it, or it may be overturned by a court. A statute may delay, or dismiss, under the terms of the statute itself or under legislatives that automatically terminate statutes except if they are authorized before the given amount of time has passed. Statutes are the main source of law, and the power to ratify statutes is reserved to elected law makers. However, judicial decisions also have the force of law. Statutes do not control every possible case, and even if a statute does control a case, the courts will still have to explain it. Judicial decisions are known collectively as case law. A judicial decision lawfully binds the parties in the case, and also may present as a law in the similar prospective sense as does a statute. In other words, a judicial decision establishes the result of the particular case, and also may control future conduct of all persons within the jurisdiction of the court. In contrast with statues, case law is a dynamic and continually developing body of law. Each case contains apportion in which the facts of the argument are set forth as well as the holding and dictating an explanation of how the judge arrived at particular assumption. In addition, a case might contain an agree and disagree opinion of other judges. A judicial opinion may be used as an example for similar cases. This means that the judicial opinion in the case will guide the result with the same cases. With that being said, a judicial opinion can constitute the law on fixed issues within a particular jurisdiction. Courts can create law in this way when no statute exists to rule a case, or when the court interprets a statute. For example, if a petitions court maintains that witness testimony on memory recovered through therapy is not acceptable at trial, that decision will be the rule for those who have similar cases within the appeals courts jurisdiction. This decision will last as a law until the court changes itself or is reversed by a higher court, or until the state or federal legislature permits a statute that overrides the judicial decision. If the courts put an end to a statute and the legislature approved a similar statute, the courts may have an opportunity to announce the new statute unconstitutional. This sequence can be repeated any time if legislatures continually test the constitutional limits on their own lawmaking powers. Sometimes courts receive tasks to statutes or regulations based on constitutional grounds. Courts can create law by cancelling parts or all of a specific piece of legislation. The Supreme Court has the power to make law irrevocable to explain the state of constitution an d to announce holdings that have the force of law. Judicial opinions also provide legal authority in cases that are not through statute. Legislatures have not accepted statutes that govern every possible disagreement. In addition, the language included in statutes does not secure every possible condition. Statutes may be written in wide-ranging terms, and judicial opinions must clarify the language of applicable statutes stated by the truth of the case at hand. Regulations approved by administrative agencies also cover statutory separation, and courts are occasionally called to explain the rules as well as statutes. Statute laws and case laws are based on the same principles of what is good and bad. The parliament and the judges always reflect the public opinion in making laws. The basic element in making a law is what the majority of people thinks. Although most legal arguments are enclosed at least in part by statutes, tort and contract disputes are exceptions, in that they are largely ruled by case law. Criminal law, tax law, patent law, bankruptcy law, and property law are amongst the parts of law that are covered first and foremost by statute. References Common Law vs Statutory Law. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2017, from http://www.diffen.com/difference/Common_Law_vs_Statutory_Law What is statute law? definition and meaning. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2017, from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/statute-law.html (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2017, from https://www.hg.org/case-law.html Common Law vs Statutes. (2010, December 18). Retrieved March 24, 2017, from https://pjcjournal.wordpress.com/common-law-vs-statutes/

Black Panther Party :: Huey P. Newton

In the late 1960's and early '70's posters of the Black Panther Party's co-founder, Huey P. Newton were plastered on walls of college dorm rooms across the country. Wearing a black beret and a leather jacket, sitting on a wicker chair, a spear in one hand and a rifle in the other, the poster depicted Huey Newton as a symbol of his generation's anger and courage in the face of racism and classism. He is the man whose intellectual capacity and community leadership abilities helped to found the Black Panther Party (BPP). Newton played an instrumental role in refocusing civil rights activists to the problems of urban Black communities. He also tapped the rage and frustration of urban Blacks in order to address social injustice. However, the FBI's significant fear of the Party's aggressive actions would not only drive the party apart but also perpetuated false information regarding the Panther's programs and accomplishments. In recent years, historians have devoted much attention of the early 1960's, to Malcolm X and Martin Luther King and have ignored the Black Panthers. The Panthers and Huey P. Newton's leadership of the Party are as significant to the Black freedom struggle as more widely known leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. A typical American history high school textbook not only neglects to mention Huey Newton but also disregards the existence of the Black Panthers altogether. Huey's experiences growing up were central in his conception of the Black Panthers. Unlike King and many other civil rights leaders who were religious Southerners, from middle class and well-educated families, Huey P. Newton was a working class man from a poor urban black neighborhood. Born February 17, 1942, in Oak Grove Louisiana, Huey moved to Oakland, California when he was just two years old. During childhood, his baby face, light complexion, medium height, squeaky voice and his name "Huey", forced him to learn how to fight early on in life. Huey's remarkable quick wit and strength earned him the respect of his peers and the reputation of being a tough guy (Seale 40). Upon his enrollment at Merrit College Huey's academic achievements quickly began to surpass other students, while at the same time he was still able to relate to those he grew up with on the streets of Oakland. Autobiographer, Hugh Pearson in Shadow of the Panther reports that Huey "remained comfortable on the street corners with young Negro men who drank wine all day†¦and fought one another - young men whom most college-bound Negroes shied away from (Pearson 115).

Greatest Speeches of All Time †Franklin Roosevelt’s Speech Essay

In his first paragraph, Roosevelt states that he is certain that his fellow Americans expect he will address them with honesty and a decision which the people will push forward. He also states that this is the distinguished time to speak the truth. That Americans should not shrink from honestly facing conditions in their country today. America will endure as it has endured and will revive and flourish. So first of all, he will support his firm belief that the only thing they have to fear is fear itself- unjustified terror which stops needed efforts to transform retreat into advance. He makes a point about how values have shrunken dramatically as taxes have risen, ability to pay has fallen, the government is faced by diminishment of income, exchange means are frozen in trade, the industrial enterprise is falling (â€Å"withered leaves†), farmers cannot sell produce, savings of families are gone and there are going to be more unemployed citizens. He speaks about how America doesn’t have the problems they once had with loss of produce and how â€Å"our forefathers conquered† and that American’s should appreciate it. He says that the country has many resources and shouldn’t waste them, like leaders have wasted resources before, whether it was because they stubborn or just plain dumb, they have passed on these habits to their future rulers. He acknowledges that they have tried, but their efforts were in vain. They have only ever proposed the lending of money. People before him have not had the choice to lure people to follow him by using money promises; they resorted to persuading the people through â€Å"pleading tearfully for restored confidence. These people had no vision and only knew the rules of a generation of self-seekers, and with this vision people perish. He acknowledges that social values are more important than money values and that is where the restoration should begin. He also acknowledges that money doesn’t bring you happiness but the joy of achievement does. He also acknowledges that the joy and moral side of work no longer need to be forgotten in the chase of diminishing profits. He also states that recognition of material wealth being the standard of success being a false idea going hand in hand with the â€Å"abandonment of the false belief that public office and political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit†, also that there must be an end to the wrong doing to the citizens who trust in banking and in business. If the nation is to be restored both ethics must be changed and action must be taken. He recognises action needs to be taken so that more people are in the workforce and are able to get into the workforce. He states that we must recognise that most of the population lives in the city and that the land should be put to better use. This can be achieved by raising the value of agricultural products and with this power to purchase the output of cities. It can be helped by preventing the tragedy of the growing loss of small homes and farms. It also helped by insistence that the federal, state and local governments act on demand to have their costs reduced. If national planning for supervision of all forms of transportation and communication were in place it would also help. He states that it cannot merely be helped by talking about it and actions must be put in place quickly. He states that to return to the safeguard of work there must be strict supervision of all banking and credits and investment, there must be end to speculation with other people’s money and there must be provision for an adequate but sound currency. He goes on to explain how he will fill his duties in a fulfilling way. The event the speech addresses: The event the speech addresses was Inauguration Day, 1933. This marked the commencement of a four year term. On this day there was a swearing in ceremony which consisted of Roosevelt taking an oath of office and delivering a speech. This speech outlined that Roosevelt understood that the American Constitution had proved itself as an enduring modern political mechanism and how Roosevelt planned to ease the effects of the Great Depression. Profile of Franklin Roosevelt: Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born in 1882 at Hyde Park, New York. Hyde Park (New York) is most famous for being the hometown of Roosevelt and his grandfathers’ home is located near the Riverview Circle of the Hudson River. He was born as the only child of James Roosevelt and Sara Ann Delano Roosevelt. He was born into a family of riches and the sense of self importance. He was educated by tutors and governesses and his upbringing was far different from the common people. In 1896 he attended Groton school for boys where he found it hard to fit in as most of the boys excelled at athletics while he did not. After graduating in 1900, Roosevelt attended Harvard University and Columbia Law School but in 1907 he passed the bar exam yet didn’t receive a degree. In 1905, on St. Patrick’s Day he married Eleanor Roosevelt, his fifth cousin, niece of Theodore Roosevelt, also his fifth cousin. Theodore Roosevelt was Franklin Roosevelt’s idol and Roosevelt aimed to follow in his footsteps. Theodore Roosevelt became commander-in-chief in 1901 after William McKinley was assassinated and president in 1904 after winning second term. Roosevelt won a seat in the New York senate in 1901. He was stricken with Polio in 1921, but not many people knew exactly how paralysed he was as he was never seen in a wheelchair. He fought to regain the use of his legs though hydrotherapy. Franklin Roosevelt was the only president to be elected four times. Roosevelt had become the 32nd President of the United States in 1933. In 1935 many members of the public were against Roosevelt’s New Deal program even though the Nation had received some measure of recovery as national product went up and unemployment went down. The New Deal program was a series of domestic programs enacted in the United States between 1933 and 1936. Roosevelt was re-elected in 1936 by a huge margin. Roosevelt had pledged the United States to the â€Å"good neighbour† policy, when France fell and England came under siege in 1940, he began to send Great Britain all possible aid short of actual military involvement. Hopes of keeping America out of the war ended on December 7, 1941 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbour. Roosevelt helped in the area of advising military personnel and did this successfully in 1942 in an invasion on South Africa, in 1943 in both Italy and Sicily and followed by the D-Day invasion in Europe in 1944. During this time Roosevelt also promoted the formation of the United Nations (UN). Also in 1944 Roosevelt had been tested and diagnosed with many problems but despite this he ran for president with his running mate Harry S. Truman who he nominated as his senator and won 36 of 48 states, yet again becoming president. In February, 1945, Roosevelt attended the Yalta Conference which was held to discuss after-war reorganisation with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin. Roosevelt died on the afternoon of April 12th in 1945, as the World War II came to a close from a cerebral haemorrhage. His passing shocked America even though people knew he looked exhausted in photographs and news reels, no one was prepared for his passing. Historical Analysis: Roosevelt’s presidency had forever changed the United States and the way it was run. He led a country through the Great Depression, as well as the greatest war in human history, and his social programs during the Great Depression have redefined the role of government in Americans’ lives. He established the United States leadership on the world stage through his role in World War II. The 12 years he spent in the White House had redefined liberalism and set a precedent for the expansion of presidential power for future generations.

English Home Reading Project

Todd Bowden is a boy who wants to be a detective when he gets older. He has been doing good in school and in his free time he runs background checks on people he sees. His neighbor Mr. Dussander was one of the people he did this too. He found out that he was using a fake name and was once referred to as the blood fiend of patin the only true thing about his life was that he was very old. When Todd confronts him about it he realizes that this secret is bigger than he thought. Todd soon starts to wonder about why he was called blood fiend so he started to ask some questions about it. When Dussander refuses, Todd black-males him into giving the stories. Todd starting to let his grades drop and when his first high school report card comes home he tries to change his grades with ink remover. He does this several times thought the novella. As the story's get more and more graphic Todd begins to come almost psychopathic. He starts to make Dussander wear these awful Nazi suits and recite saying that he used to say during the war. Dussander starts to have nightmares about the war and find a gruesome way to cope with the stress. Because he used to work in one of the crematoriums, Dussander starts to find stray cats and put them in his kitchen oven. He would soon become worse and â€Å"rescue† dogs from a shelter to burn. ( worst part of book. too many details. ) As Todd grades drop further his guidance counselor try's to set up a meeting between him and his parents. Todd black-males Dussander into pretending that he is his grandfather and proceeds with the meeting without his real parents. Todd is told that if he gets another flunk card that he will have to repeat this grade . One night after having listened too so many of the horrible stories he has a nightmare. These dreams persist for weeks and eventually Todd comes up with a plan to kill dussander. When nightmares continue to get worse Todd stabs a homeless man to death and realizes that murder helps with his stress and the dreams start to go away . he continues to commit murder whenever the dreams get too bad. Dussander starts too do the same as Todd and buries his victims in his basement. towards the end of the story the guidance counselor meets Todd's real grandfather and starts too talk about the meeting they had and when the grandfather dident remember the conversation he puts the pieces together. CLIMAX chapter 17. his is the climax of the story because at this point the entire story changes. Dussander had a heart attack and this leads to new situations that completely change the story. The resolution of this story is that todd bowden is questrioned by the police. After this he goes to a secret spto on the highway. Gets a gun, and goes on a rampage. Only to end in his own death. I t hink this was a great ending to the story. If fit perfect with all the little details that were put into the book. It all fits together at the end. Characterization Todd Bowden: Main character of the book. He is shown as decieving and mean. Througout the novella todd tricks and manipulated people into doing things that could help himself and hurt others. He is important to the story because without him nothing would have happened and it wouldent be a good book. Arthur Denker AKA Mr. Dussander: main character. Shown as a nice man but forceful when need be and his past shows him as a monster. He is important to the story because he feeds all of todds rage to him and is an antagonist to the story. Todds personality chapter 6. this shows Todds evil side and proves just how much of a monster he can be to put an old man throug this rough time again. Todd is not the kind of person I would like to be friends with. He is a lieing kid who is extremly mean. And throughout the book he is seen by his peers as a loser. Conflict One main conflict in this story is when Todds grades start too fall. He constantly changes them to deceive his parents and when he is confronted by his guidance counselor about it he decides to lie about his situation in hopes to fix it. Todd has Dussander go to the school and talk to the counselor instead of his parent to â€Å" sweep the problem under the rug†. This fixes one of his problems but makes life much more difficult in the rest of the story. I can relate to some of todds problems like falling grades sometimes and feeling like your stuck in a place that your know wont lead anywhere good. But as for the rest of his problems like where to bury his victims I cannot say that I have any experience in. Theme one main theme of this novella is deception and black-male can only get you so far, because when the time comes for the truth it will only bring you down. This is shown when todds grandfather meets the counselor and realizes that todd lied to his parents about his grades and the whole situation unfolds.

Jane Fonda in North Vietnam - Myths of Womens History

Jane Fonda in North Vietnam - Myths of Women's History They started coming in the winter of 1999: emails asking me to do something about the book, written by Barbara Walters, already published and the basis of a television special reviewed on this site: 100 Women of the Century. (Ive never been clear how one does something about a book thats already been published and sold. I dont think these people really wanted to seize and destroy all copies, did they?) The protest was over the inclusion of Jane Fonda in the book and special. Id quoted Fonda in my review, this way: Who did Jane Fonda say popped into her mind as the most influential woman of the century? Coco Chanel! Fonda explains: And heres why: She freed us from the corset. Frankly, I thought anyone reading that quote was likely to come away with this conclusion: Jane Fonda was not exactly the brainiest commentator on the history of women in the 20th century, and not exactly a prime candidate for selection as one of the 100 most influential women of the century! But, I guess because I included Jane Fonda in that review, these Jane Fonda emails started to pour in. There are fewer of them now, though they continue to come, and unfortunately I suspect Ill get more after publishing this article, from correspondents who dont read carefully. An example of one I received, after writing the above words, from a Carl R. Brucker, includes these words: How can a woman who patronized the Vietnamese Army during war time be honored? You media publicicts need to have your heads examined and your patriotism questioned, maybe even your citizenship! What upset these writers so much? Heres the email that they sent to me - its also reproduced in many places on the web: Jane Fonda is being honored as one of the 100 Women of the Century. Unfortunately, many have forgotten and still countless others have never known how Ms. Fonda betrayed not only the idea of our country, but specific men who served and sacrificed during Vietnam. Part of my conviction comes from personal exposure to those who suffered her attentions. The first part of this is from an F-4E pilot. The pilots name is Jerry Driscoll, a River Rat. In 1968, the former Commandant of the USAF Survival School was a POW in Ho Lo Prison - the Hanoi Hilton. Dragged from a stinking cesspit of a cell, cleaned, fed, and dressed in clean PJs, he was ordered to describe for a visiting American Peace Activist the lenient and humane treatment hed received. He spat at Ms. Fonda, and was clubbed and dragged away. During the subsequent beating, he fell forward upon the camp Commandants feet, which sent that officer berserk. In 78, the AF Col still suffered from double vision (which permanently ended his flying days) from the Vietnamese Cols frenzied application of a wooden baton. Col Larry Carrigan was in the 47FW/DO (F-4Es). He spent 6 years in the Hilton - the first three of which he was missing in action. His wife lived on faith that he was still alive. His group, too, got the cleaned/fed/clothed routine in preparation for a peace delegation visit. They, however, had time and devised a plan to get word to the world that they still survived. Each man secreted a tiny piece of paper, with his SSN on it, in the palm of his hand. When paraded before Ms. Fonda and a camera man, she walked the line, shaking each mans hand and asking little encouraging snippets like: Arent you sorry you bombed babies? and Are you grateful for the humane treatment from your benevolent captors? Believing this HAD to be an act, they each palmed her their slivers of paper. She took them all without missing a beat. At the end of the line and once the camera stopped rolling, to the shocked disbelief of the POWs, she turned to the officer in charge... and handed him the little pile of p apers. Three men died from the subsequent beatings. Col Carrigan was almost number four. But he survived... which is the only reason we know about her actions that day. I was a civilian economic development advisor in Vietnam, and was captured by the North Vietnamese communists in South Vietnam in 1968 and held for over 5 years. I spent 27 months in solitary confinement, one year in a cage in Cambodia, and one year in a black box in Hanoi. My North Vietnamese captors deliberately poisoned and murdered a female missionary, a nurse in a leprosarium in Ban me Thuot, South Vietnam, whom I buried in the jungle near the Cambodian border. At one time I weighed approximately 90 lbs  - my normal weight is 170 lbs. We were Jane Fondas war criminals. When Jane Fonda was in Hanoi, I was asked by the camp communist political officer if I would be willing to meet with Jane Fonda. I said yes, that I would like to tell her about the real treatment we POWs were receiving, which was far different from the treatment purported by the North Vietnamese, and parroted by Jane Fonda, as humane and lenient. Because of this, I spent three days on a rocky floor on my knees with outstretched arms with a large amount of steel placed on my hands, and beaten with a bamboo cane every time my arms dipped. I had the opportunity to meet with Jane Fonda for a couple of hours after I was released. I asked her if she would be willing to debate me on TV. She did not answer me. This does not exemplify someone who should be honored as part of 100 Years of Great Women. Lest we forget...100 Years of Great Women should never include a traitor whose hands are covered with the blood of so many patriots. There are few things I have strong visceral reactions to, but Hanoi Janes participation in blatant treason is one of them. Please take the time to forward to as many people as you possibly can. It will eventually end up on her computer and she needs to know that we will never forget. For starters: any email that says Please take the time to forward to as many people as you possibly can is probably at best an exaggeration, at worst an outright scam. (I always check similar emails at  http://urbanlegends.about.com  before passing them along, and I check out allegations of viruses at  http://antivirus.about.com  as well. Most of those panicked forward this everywhere emails are hoaxes or long-expired petitions.) Checking It Out When I started getting these Jane Fonda emails, I forwarded one to David Emery, Abouts Guide to Urban Legends.  David carefully checked out the stories  in the Jane Fonda  email,  and discovered that  the first two are false  - the ones where servicemen actually died. I repeat -   those stories have been debunked, and their falsehood confirmed by the supposed sources of the stories. The last one - where a serviceman was beaten because he said hed meet with Jane Fonda and tell her honestly about conditions in a POW camp - is confirmed as  true,  but did not involve Fondas direct action at all. Its fascinating, though, to see how persistent these Jane Fonda legends remain, despite the attempts of Davids site and others to debunk them. I vividly remember Jane Fondas trip to North Vietnam, as reported in the media. I remember proponents and opponents of the war alike finding her actions distasteful, ill-thought-out, and profoundly disrespectful of Americans serving in Vietnam. But I certainly didnt think that her act would generate such energy nearly thirty years later. When I wrote the review of Barbara Walters book in 1999, I thought that including Jane Fonda as one of the most influential women of the twentieth century was rather silly, an example of the preference for entertainers that Walters showed in her selections. Barbara Walters included several women even more notorious than Jane Fonda: Madame Mao and  Leni Riefenstahl, for instance. The book was about influential and important women - not simply wonderful women who should be held up as role models. Walters says in the book that she included Fonda for her contribution to bringing exercise into wide practice among women - not for her political views! Nevertheless, I didnt think Jane Fonda deserved inclusion as one of the 100 most influential women of the century. But the persistence of this Jane Fonda email, and the clear passion of the many who continue to distribute it and who continue to believe that Jane Fonda should be tried for treason for her trip to North  Vietnam,  have convinced me otherwise. Jane Fonda is influential far beyond what Id  thought,  if she can continue to generate this level of activity! The  whole  story on this email legend and why the first two-thirds is not believable:  Hanoi Jane Rumors Blend Fact and Fiction Update As of this writing, several years after first publishing this article, the waves of distribution of the Jane Fonda email have diminished somewhat. Perhaps this article has been able to play a part in getting people to think more carefully about an issue that carries a lot of emotional  weight. But whenever Jane Fonda is in the news, the erroneous emails return. To use the example of Mr. Brucker, whose email I excerpted on page 1 of this article: Hes still apparently convinced that Im honoring Fonda despite reading an earlier version of this article, failing to understand the difference between writing about someone and honoring them (or still being confused about the difference between myself and the author of a book I mentioned). Worse than his misunderstanding is the implication that anyone who publishes something about Fonda may need to have their citizenship questioned. What an insult to those people who have served in Americas military, thinking they were doing so to promote a free society, in which dissent is possible, and certainly where the writing about a controversy isnt reasonable grounds for challenging ones citizenship or patriotism. Whats next? Burn Barbara Walters book, bringing to mind  Fahrenheit 451? Burn Barbara Walters, bringing to mind medieval witch hunts or the Inquisition? I wish I could say that Mr. Bruckers tirade was unusual, and indeed some correspondents do read and write more carefully and without advocating closing down free speech. But unfortunately, too many seem to have difficulty understanding two major points: (a) listing several people as influential is not necessarily an honor, much less mentioning that a book listed someone as influential;  and in this case  the continuing venom only demonstrates Fondas continued influence; and(b) even if someone did honor Fonda for her other achievements, proposing to punish disagreement with the authors perspective by removing a writers citizenship or shooting the writer is not exactly in keeping with the reasons that many served bravely in Americas wars. On the other hand - whether Jane Fondas actions in North Vietnam fall into the realm of treason is still a matter of debate. The 2002 book  Aid and Comfort: Jane Fonda in North Vietnam,  by attorneys Henry Mark Holzer and Erika Holzer (compare prices) comes down on the side of yes. Fondas had few defenders recently - her fitness videos of the 1970s and 1980s (compare prices) have largely been replaced by newer videos by new fitness gurus, and Thomas Kiernans 1982 biography,  Jane Fonda: Heroine for Our Time  (compare prices), is out of print. Barbara Walters 1998 book,  100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century  (compare prices), in which Jane Fonda plays a minor role, is still a readable if light version of 20th century womens history, in which celebrities play a disproportionate role and which includes a few women who were influential but not exactly positive role models (Madame Mao and  Leni Riefenstahl, for instance). A Later Update This story has unfolded over many years.  I get far fewer emails now - because the email has morphed since the 2008 election into a story about Barack Obama instead of me co-writing this book with Barbara Walters.  I think I should be honored to be transformed into a President.  Dont believe that Obama is responsible for this, either.  Its you who will look ignorant.