Been hoaxed by Martin Eisenstadt? Join the Bone Marrow Registry for redemption

While I promised myself I’d basically sit out the latest Martin Eisenstadt furor, I find myself irresistibly drawn toward it again. Damn you, Eisenstadt!

The first reason is this - Eisenstadt came out with his “I was the source behind the Sarah Palin smears” post, and everybody and their brother, sister, mom, dad and MSNBC jumped on it like it was the political scoop of the century. Then, quickly afterward, the meme was sent out that Eisenstadt is a hoax, and everyone quickly retracted.

But despite the knowledge that Eisenstadt was a parody, a new meme emerged that shows, dare I say, a profound lack of critical thinking skills:

Carl Cameron of Fox News cited anonymous sources from the McCain Campaign that Sarah Palin wasn’t too bright + Martin Eisenstadt claims to be a McCain Campaign worker and that he was the anonymous source + Martin Eisenstadt is found to be a hoax = Carl Cameron was fooled by Martin Eisenstadt and his anonymous reports are therefore lies!

And it’s not just rabidly pro-Palin folks that are jumping on the illogical train. Jonathon Turley wants answers from Cameron. Digital Journal needs Fox News to address whether “Marty” was the source. And others are echoing this wildly stupid leap of logic.

This is one of the reasons why - after several months of knowing the name “Eisenstadt” in any of its various forms - I have a lot more respect for him, whoever he really is, than I do the vast majority of the media. He’s about the only one showing even a modicum of guile.

There’s another reason I have a soft spot for Eisenstadt, and it leads to how those that were hoaxed by him can pay penance:

It was May 30 when I was officially “suckered” by Eisenstadt myself. I got an e-mail and ran with it, as many have since. Of course, I didn’t have the benefit of Googling him and finding out who he was. Instead, I started researching, and by June 4 had things pretty well figured out. I was hoaxed and admitted such.

I did hours of research on Eisenstadt to come to that conclusion, and I really enjoyed it. For one, I enjoy remembering I’m a journalist. More than that though is this - I was in California at the time with my parents as my Mom fought Leukemia. While I was in California I put together a bone marrow donor drive, I helped my frazzled parents stay informed, and basically just pitched in wherever I could. The Eisenstadt research, mostly done late in the evenings, was a great way to take my mind away from a depressing and frightening reality.

Today, my Mom is recovering very well after receiving a bone marrow transplant from an anonymous 48-year-old donor. That donor, who didn’t know my Mom whatsoever, saved her life.

So here’s the deal - those of you who have been hoaxed, or are passing on the “Cameron was hoaxed” absurdity, you can make it all better, at least in my eyes, by doing one simple thing: Join the National Marrow Donor Program’s Bone Marrow Registry.

The Registry is literally always desperate for donors, and it’s the simplest, easiest way you can do something that could lead to directly saving the life of someone who needs a marrow transplant to survive.

Go to Marrow.org and find out just how easy it is to join the registry. Or if you’re already on the registry, donate something, anything to help them in their quest to get more people signed up.

This is no hoax. The National Marrow Donor Program needs you. So join them and find redemption.

-WKW