Since I started writing my column six years ago, I've stirred up a little trouble here and there and been called a few names but I think the best one came from a response on the Internet last week to my article, "Don't We Have a Two-Term Limit?"

"David--X--Machina" wrote the following … "I'm wondering why anyone would heed the political musings of a second rate columnist at a second rate rag newspaper in a cultural, social, and intellectual backwater town in a flyover state?"

I'm wondering why a man of such obvious "distinction" would even bother lowering himself to read such an article from such a person, let alone respond if he feels so strongly about me and the residents of Nebraska.

Another post by "Rural Citizen" makes false claims about Hilary Clinton's closest opponent, Barack Obama, posing the question, "Do you really want someone who is cold hearted and has an Iranian upbringing?"

Just to clear up that little bit of misinformation, let me point out that Barack Obama was not raised Iranian. He was born in Hawaii to a white mother from Wichita, Kan. and a black father who was born and raised in Kenya, and yes, his father was a Muslim. The fact that his parents separated when Barack was only two years old leads me to believe his father had little to do with influencing his religious beliefs.

When he was four or five years old, his mother married an Indonesian who was a Muslim. The family moved to that country, where they lived for four to five years.

While in Indonesia, Barack attended a Catholic School into his fourth grade. When the family moved to a different neighborhood in Jakara, he was enrolled in a school that was attended predominantly by Muslims.

However, according to John Vause, of CNN, who visited the Basuki School in Jakara, the school was made up of predominantly Muslim students because Jakara is predominantly Muslim. He found that there were also a variety of students of other religious backgrounds including Christian, Buddhists, and Confucian. He also found that the school did not concentrate on Muslim teachings, but a basic curriculum with a few Muslim classes.

(http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/22/obama.madrassa/)

Obama attended Basuki School for one year before his mother packed him and his infant sister up and moved back to Hawaii where he attended Punahou School, a private, non-sectarian school in Oahu, through his senior year.

According to the musings of Barack himself, his mother did not believe in organized religion, but instead exposed him to a variety of different religions during his childhood.

Today, Obama is associated with the United Church of Christ.

I welcome the comments made by my readers. I strongly believe that the First Amendment gives every American the right to voice their opinion, whether it be spoken, written or posted on an Internet blog. So go ahead and keep writing. For those of you who disagree with me, I will try to understand your point of view. For those that support me, I thank you.

And for those that want to call me names, go ahead -- over the years I've grown thick-skinned -- but please point the insults in the right direction, remember I'm the one who wrote the column, not the residents of McCook or this great state of Nebraska.

And most importantly, remember to check your facts. I'm guessing if you have a way of posting to the Internet, you have a way of making sure that the comments you are making are correct. It took me five minutes to find the article on Obama's youth.

The Internet is a wonderful thing. You can find information on almost everything imaginable.

It is a wonderful, powerful tool for those that use it correctly. However it can also be used as a dangerous weapon to harm the reputation of others.

I suggest we use it for the good it can do for us, using it in any other manner only defeats the purpose.

Much of the information in this article came from an article in the Chicago Tribune titled "The Not-So-Simple Story of Barack Obama's Youth." You can find it at the following URL:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-07...