There’s Mac Vs. PC, and there’s “clip” vs. “twist-tie.” It’s a $10.6 billion industry.

Imagine being a salesman for twist-ties. Your life’s work is to convince breadmakers to switch from plastic clips to twisties. Can anything be more rewarding, or make a child more proud? (“My dad sells those plastic clips on hamburger bun packages.”)

Also imagine putting together a PowerPoint presentation to sell your product. Twist-ties provide a tighter seal, but clips can be applied faster, and you can print stuff on them (like expiration dates). Yes, this sounds fulfilling.

Words get redefined. I remember in the 1970s, as a high schooler, when the word “bad” suddenly began meaning “cool.” A basketball player would make a great move, and you’d say, “That was so bad!”

The word “down” has assumed a similar meaning. When you say, “I’m down with that,” you’re saying, “That’s cool,” or “I agree with that.”

So when Iranians paint “Down with USA” on the old embassy in Iran, they are saying, “We like the USA.” They just don’t realize it.

I just read a great story about an 11-year-old clay shooting champion from Butte, Montana. Two illegal aliens broke into her home while her parents were away. She grabbed a shotgun and killed both intruders. One was armed with a .45 handgun stolen during a previous break-in, during which they murdered gun’s owner.

The story is a double whammy, supporting the gun-rights cause and the anti-illegals cause. BUT IT NEVER HAPPENED.

These stories are SO easy to check. Nevertheless, they turn up regularly on Facebook, blogs, and emails. I continually post links to Snopes on Facebook, to let people know the story they just published is false. But too many people don’t think of going to Snopes BEFORE they post.

I guess when people want to believe something is true, when it confirms their own viewpoints or tugs their emotions, they just accept it as true and pass it on.