Editor:

As a service to Eddie Foraker, I’d like to let him in on a few things that should put his mind at ease. Diet Coke will not cause cancer. Tampons do not contain asbestos. And no, Bill Gates will not pay him a million dollars for forwarding some stupid e-mail.

You see, from his Oct. 27 letter to the editor, (“Edwards helped cause flu vaccine shortage”) it’s obvious that Foraker (unfortunately, like too many of us) believes everything he receives via e-mail.

He basically submitted verbatim an urban legend circulating via e-mail that John Edwards is responsible for the current flu vaccine shortage. Mr. Foraker: If you get something in an e-mail that sounds really “juicy,” but the mainstream press hasn’t reported on it yet, most likely it’s BS.

The following are great sites you can use to check the veracity of any of these emails. Read the truth about the John Edwards e-mail, and others:

http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_flu_shots.htm

It’s a good lesson, Foraker; before you portray something as a fact, make sure it’s actually true.

Rick Vazquez

Alumnus