It's a difficult question, Donuel, and I don't have a good answer yet: How should I respond when somebody on "my side" broadcasts untruthful information? I work as an advocate for our local homeless shelter, and I frequently get up to speak at public meetings.

There's a woman in our group who gets up to speak as often as I do - but what she says is most often inaccurate, misleading, or downright untrue; and it often serves to weaken the cause we're fighting for.
I try to be polite, but oftentimes I feel I need to refute what she says and offer the correct information. I try to speak after her, so that the last word is correct.

I've had people complain that I think I'm always right, and I guess their allegation is true. Most often, I AM right - because I don't take a position until I take the time to have well-researched facts to back it up. If I'm not sure of something, I couch my words in ways that make it clear that this is more of an educated guess than pure fact.

Donuel, you are one of the most prolific posters at Mudcat, and you start more threads in the BS section than just about anybody else. And very often, you start threads with misinformation and then dig yourself deeper. How would you suggest that people who are on "your side" should respond? By supporting the untruths you propose?

-Joe Offer-