i got one today from a well-meaning friend saying, essentially (and it was especially convoluted):
1. nina totenberg said on NPR that if the Supreme Court supports Congress, they’ll cut funding to NPR.
2. sign this petition, and we’ll
3. send it to the president and the vice-president.
what the hell? so here was my response . . .
re: NPR & PBS funding
whoa there, ponies! let’s clear up some stuff about npr & pbs & the rest of the stuff in that e-mail. it’s all a’tangled, due to “the web.”
first, here’s the supreme court’s docket for the rest of the year. this page is free, and you should check it often. it’s always very interesting to see what’s coming up—for instance, last week they upheld (narrowly) that cross-burning is expressive speech (as opposed to pure free speech, like protesting the war).
secondly, you’ll notice there’s NOTHING TO DO with funding PBS or NPR. why? because the supreme court has got nothing to do with that. in fact, the last time NPR’s Nina Totenberg covered the Court, it was about Lawrence v. Texas, a critical case that will (hopefully) find unconstitutional anti-homosexual sodomy laws. See this for more.
the Court rarely oversees Congress’ funding efforts, because that’s a so-called “political question.” every now and then they may invalidate a law—say, the Morrison Act, which provided for enhanced penalties in cases dealing with violence against women—based on an overreaching by Congress. but funding is rarely addressed—as per the constitution, the Court can only address certain issues (like the constitutionality of laws).
as to the next part, sending a petition to the President and the Vice-President may make some difference, but probably not. why? because CONGRESS is voting on the issue! if you really want to affect their vote, just petition them! head here to find your representative, and here to find your senators.
to my knowledge, there is no pending action to cut NPR funding, but it IS revised every year. so write your congressperson and tell them you love NPR! but don’t write the Supremes, or the president. and don’t sign a petition that doesn’t mean anything! it ALWAYS MEANS MORE when you write or e-mail your representative or senator directly, rather then sending internet petitions.
similarly, don’t write a congressperson out of your district—like writing rep. bennie thompson if your rep. is roger wicker—unless they’re a key member of a committee that is studying an issue you care about. otherwise, you’re wasting their time and yours.
the internet can be a great tool for contacting our elected representatives, but it can also be a total waste. before you sign a petition, please research the whys & wherefores behind it, and remember that it’s better to simply write your own elected representative.
yours,
gorjus
student-at-law
I loathe internet petitions, and loathe even more my well-meaning friends who send them blindly without checking facts. I used to send really kind return emails stating the facts and why they should reseach before they send, but now I usually subject title “stop sending me this shit” and put a link to the snopes.com site that debunks it.