FIVE MYTHS / WHO'S IN CHARGE?

FIVE MYTHS. In today's Washington Post, David Kirkpatrick picks up on the hype surrounding a movie called "The Social Network," whose subject is the website Facebook. The movie may perpetuate several myths about FB and its founder, Mark Zuckerman. Below are the myths. See if you have a grasp of their essential untruth, then check yourself out at Kirkpatrick's article.

1. Facebook is used mostly by college kids.
2. Facebook keeps changing to help sell advertising.
3. Facebook users are up in arms about privacy.
4. Zuckerman stole the idea for Facebook from other students at Harvard.
5. Facebook could soon go the way of Friendster and MySpace.

It is remarkable to realize that Facebook has grown to include over 500 million active users globally, since the website's launch in February 2004. I happen to be one of them, and am grateful for the opportunity to have become good friends with people in places as far-flung as Greece, Portugal, Sweden, England, Slovakia, and Lebanon, as well as all parts of the U.S.

WHO'S IN CHARGE? Last week our hard-working servants in Congress once again managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by failing to rescind the military's discriminatory "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which denies gays and lesbians the right to serve their country openly. Had Congress acted according to the wishes of 82 percent of Democrats and 64 per cent of Republicans, our military would be in a position to avail itself of an untapped resource of intelligent, dedicated men and women (whose sexual orientation is nobody's businesss, and irrelevant to their ability to serve). During his satiric monologue the day after the Senate vote, Jon Stewart rhetorically asked, "Are We Being Led by A**holes?" In many instances, definitely yes. The posturing and petty politics being played out in Washington do not serve the interests of the country or the military. The fact is that one out of every ten people is a gay man or a lesbian woman, whether openly or secretly. This includes everyone YOU know. Think about that. Your friends, relatives and coworkers, good people all, include a substantial number of homosexuals. Does that mean you should drop them from your life? Hell no. It means that, if you haven't done so already, it is high time you reconsider your biases toward gays. My circle of friends around the country includes a number of gays and lesbians, and I treasure them equally with my straight friends. Too bad I can't say the same about certain politicians.