How disappointing–I usually have great respect for Snopes, an invaluable resource for the rumour debunker. Tom Tomorrow, however, outlines how Snopes let politics get the better of them. The topic was Michael Moore’s assertion that Bush & Co. let members of the bin Laden family fly on the no-fly days immediately after September 11. Snopes bought the Bush line, said that was categorically false, and proceded to ream Moore a new one. Since this fact has since been proven true, Snopes was forced to recant (and, to give them their due, they apologized to Moore fully). But as Tom Tomorrow puts it:

See, when Michael says it, he’s a crazy truth-distorting axe-grinder. But when much of what he said turns out to be true, suddenly it’s “subjective political issues outside of the scope of this page.”

Planet Autism is an old article (Scot Sea, Salon, 2003; registration or free daypass required), but it is an incredibly intense, realistic and moving account of living with a disabled child. Even though much of the article describes the author’s specific trials of dealing with autism, many of the observations (spinning through the medical system’s endless circles, reduced finances due to not being able to work full-time, clueless friends/neighbours) ring frighteningly true for any parents of severely developmentally disabled children; I find the the fear expressed in the last four paragraphs is chillingly recognizable. Emily Perl Kingsley’s “Welcome to Holland” is the G-rated, Hallmark version (though moving in its own way); “Planet Autism” is the real thing.