A Fresher Take on the World's Biggest Lies

Last month, I did a column about world's biggest lies. Based on popular demand, I have decided to do a sequel. Here are ten more common, everyday fallacies that I am debunking. Actually, I've added an extra one this time for good measure. Enjoy! (1) 500 TV channels. All too often, truth falls victim to popular belief. Such is case with supposed 500 TV channel universe. This myth started getting repeated in early 1990's. By now, it has been repeated so often that most people believe that many cable and satellite TV systems offer as many as 500 channels for subscription. In reality, I know of no cable or satellite TV provider that offers that offers this many channels. Let's suppose that, when you were a preschooler, you began hearing rumors about existence of a five-legged horse called a "quinthorse." Now let's suppose you are 40 years old but have never seen a quinthorse either in flesh, in pictures, in movies, or on TV, even though you are still hearing rumors about it. Would you still believe such an animal exists? Based history of 500 TV channels myth, many people in that situation apparently would. (2) The candidate from independent party. Think about it. This is actually an oxymoron and tantamount to saying you paid toll on a freeway! If a candidate is indeed an independent, he/she couldn't be a member of a party; if he/she were a member of a party, he/she couldn't be an independent candidate. (3) We're doing it for children. Yeah, right! This is nothing more than an excuse to restrict rights of adults. The Parents Television Council (PTC) and other so-called "family values" organizations are prime examples of what I'm talking about. They claim they want to protect children from influence of inappropriate material available over airwaves, but their real goal is to regulate what adults can see on TV or listen to on radio. How do I know this? Because, if their true goal was to protect children, they would be emphasizing technology like V-chip, which helps parents control what their children watch on TV. Instead, they emphasize removal of programming from airwaves, so no one can see it. Even if we could incorporate some kind of super-advanced technology in V-chip that could automatically detect when children are present and shut off inappropriate programming, PTC and others would still reject it. If censoring broadcast content from adults is what they want to do (as it quite obviously is), then they should have moral integrity to admit it and quit hiding behind "it's for children" charade. (4) The highest standards of ethical conduct. Almost every large corporation has this line written somewhere in its standards of conduct and code of ethics. It's there because their corporate lawyers say it has to be and not because most corporate mucky-mucks actually believe in it or adhere to it. I know I sound cynical, but that's way things are in real world. Most corporations will bend or break any rule they can as long as they believe it will be to their advantage and they think they are not likely to get caught doing it. Corporate honchos are some of worst purveyors of "do as I say, not as I do" philosophy. Of course, this is not an excuse for employees to engage in illegal or unethical behavior, as each individual is responsible for his or her own actions. (5) Below dealer cost/invoice. Many automobile dealers will deceitfully include this phrase in their advertisements. However, it's just not true. If you believe a dealer is going to sell you a car for less than what he paid for it, then I have some ocean-front property in Kansas that you might be interested in. Sure, they might be able to produce a so-called invoice with a price on that's less than what you might be paying. But wait - that dealer is getting a rebate or an incentive from manufacturer (that he's keeping and not telling you about) that ultimately lowers actual cost of vehicle to him. Rest assured that this cost is less than what you are paying.

AMAZING GIFT STORE ON INTERNET

With a exciting worldwide saleservice from DIAMOND and OVERSTOCK you have an genuin offer within exclusive gifts. Seek DIAMOND for all kinds...