&ldquo;WHY IS THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA AFRAID TO REPORT THIS?&rdquo; asked a breathless e-mail I received recently. It warned that the health care bill currently in Congress would require counseling on assisted suicide for all senior citizens.</p><p>Shocking stuff, to be certain &mdash; and also completely wrong. The message cites Page 425 of HR 3200, claiming that its description of an &ldquo;advance care planning consultation&rdquo; equals mandatory discussion of euthanasia.</p><p>If you have access to e-mail, you can also easily look up the full text of the bill and read it for yourself at the Library of Congress&rsquo; THOMAS site ( <a href="http://thomas.loc.gov">http://thomas.loc.gov</a>). </p><p>That passage is clearly a description of what the plan would or wouldn&rsquo;t cover in the usual discussions doctors have with patients about various end-of-life decisions, including palliative and hospice care. It says nothing whatsoever about euthanasia.</p><p>Supposedly secret information is powerfully enticing. History is littered with conspiracy theories and legends that endure despite having no basis in fact. In recent weeks, I&rsquo;ve heard numerous requests to investigate claims that NASA&rsquo;s entire moon program was a giant hoax, or that President Barack Obama&rsquo;s birth certificate is a forgery and he&rsquo;s ineligible for the office. </p><p>The allegations about the birth certificate have gotten so labyrinthine and irrational that many prominent Obama opponents are publicly denouncing the myth. National Review, Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, Neal Boortz, Bill O&rsquo;Reilly &mdash; all have cried &ldquo;enough&rdquo; to the pseudo-controversy. Michael Medved said, &ldquo;We are dissipating energy, with a lot of the most passionate people in the conservative movement, with this incredible stupidity.&rdquo;</p><p>Some readers think journalists should debunk nonsense before it spreads. &ldquo;You have the chance to give the final word on the issue in black and white,&rdquo; one told me.</p><p>Others think that even mentioning untruths is a bad idea. One caller said Obama supporters &ldquo;are going to pretend like everyone who thinks his health care plan is a bunch of baloney is a nut who thinks he&rsquo;s a Muslim and not a citizen. They want to use it to ignore us like we&rsquo;re crazy.&rdquo;</p><p>Writing about these subjects will undoubtedly expose some people to the bad info for the first time. I remember one reader who told me he&rsquo;d never even heard of the idea that President George W. Bush collaborated with Israel to orchestrate the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks &mdash; until he read a story about conspiracy theories on KansasCity.com.</p><p>If Obama personally escorted a camera crew to the office where his original birth certificate is stored, would that silence the speculation? Of course not. The story would morph again to explain why <em>that </em>document is inauthentic. </p><p>Some rumors are utterly resistant to facts and logic, and no amount of responsible reporting can lay them to rest. Journalists should choose these battles wisely.