Does PETA protect and nurture the animals placed in its care? Find out — this story is from True’s 17 July 2005 issue.
Letters and More Commentary have been added farther down the page (jump there) — and be sure to see the several Updates (jump there).
A photo is “worth a thousand words,” so yes, I’ve got the photos (below). But usually you need some words to put the photos in context.
When is the discriminatory treatment of women not really discriminatory?
This is True often deals with education. That’s due to several factors, including: 1) We all spend so many of our formative years in school, 2) Kids have a knack for doing really dumb things sometimes, and 3) School administrators and teachers always want to outdo the kids, and thus pull even dumber stunts.
A Few Reader Horror Stories
Updates: A Happy Ending?
Conclusion — and Lessons Learned
I’ve recommended Dell computers for many years. But my confidence in them was shaken when I got a new laptop in Fall 2004, and I ended up in “Dell Hell”. This is the story: ridiculous, but even somewhat funny.
I periodically remind people: the stories in This is True are not always meant to be funny. Even the funny ones are often chosen to drive home a point, but sometimes being funny isn’t the way to do that. A good example is this two-story line-up from True’s 3 October 2004 issue:
Another example of the photos “making” the story. From the 12 September 2004 issue.
A fair number of governmental bodies have a minister say a prayer at the start of official meetings — an invocation. When criticized by those who favor a true separation of church and state, they often insist that the invocation is not really religious.
Sometimes the story just isn’t complete without a photo …or two. From True’s 30 May 2004 issue:
We’re often told not to discuss politics or religion in polite company. But sometimes your hand is forced. It all started with two stories that appeared in subsequent weeks — in the 9 May and 16 May 2004 issues:
Sometimes I write taglines with the intention of provoking readers a bit, but usually they don’t rise to the bait. Other times, I’m astounded at what does trigger complaints. A good example of the latter is this story from the 15 February 2004 issue:
I got exactly one complaint about a story in last week’s issue, and the basis of the complaint, by a Baptist Youth Pastor, is so eye-rolling in its cluelessness, you’ll begin to understand why some kids are so screwed up.
The way some people reacted, you’d think this publication was called Guns Digest. Truth is, True hasn’t run a real “gun story” since the bit on John Lott almost five years ago!
Sometimes I think of a funnier tagline after I publish an issue. Sometimes I think of a funnier tagline before I publish it, but I don’t use it — usually because it’s just too nasty. This is one of those cases, so if you don’t like crude, you’ve been warned. Otherwise, on with the story, from the 21 July 2002 column:
See Updates Below!
I showed a friend the story below from the 3 October 1999 issue, and she found it way too hard to believe.
Yes, True is about weird news. More importantly, it’s about thinking, which implies a quest for knowledge and understanding. That’s most evident in my editorials; here are two of them on the same subject, starting with one from May 2002:
Just how clueless is Hollywood? Very. It’s bad enough that they try to jam crap down our throats all the time, but they also demand that you sit and watch that commercial for “Tide” detergent — all 26 times it runs tonight.
Written 21 September 2001. Also see the 2005 Update
A story in the 22 July 2001 issue really captured my interest — it amazes me how people will adapt to their technology, rather than make their technology adapt to them.