Fat Elephants On a Plane...
*LOTS* of Fat Elephants on a plane. I think I've mentioned that the place I work at is in the airport complex. As it happens, we're right by the "private charted flights" area. So, today we got to do a bit of Palin-spotting after lunch because her plane was on the tarmack about 50 yards away. If I'd known she was flying in, I would have put a protest sign on my car. ("There's a special place in Hell for women politicians who don't support women's issues" or perhaps "Reading is Fundamental" Of course, security probably would have taken it down before she got off the plane). So, I saw Wolf-Killer Barbie in the flesh-- I'm just not sure which woman was her. I suspect she was one of the women with the red jackets. A *LOT* of people got off that plane- Super K said it made him think of a clown car while one of the Neighbor ladies thought they must have all been sitting on each other's laps-- or they were circling around & coming back out the plane to make it look like there were more people. For my part, I'd lamented to Mom last night that her talk was while I was working so I couldn't go protest. Mom was of the opinion that I'd have just managed to get myself arrested & lose my clearance & my job with it.
Still, it's a good thing I didn't see today's mail until after I got home from work, otherwise I might very well have stormed over to the Trophy Veep & demanded she explain the fliers I got today from various Fat Elephant-related groups. They are by *FAR* the most blatantly ridiculous pieces of bullshit propaganda that I have *ever* seen.
First is one that claims we have to vote Republican "to secure needed relief from today's rising gas prices, grocery bills & costly mortgages"" First off, gas prices are already falling. Second, it's the Republican's unregulated free-market policies that led to the mortgage crisis (which even Greenspan admitted to, although he doesn't understand why) which is why the economy's tanked. This one, which is from the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, goes on to claim "Democrats, siding with liberal fringe groups like ACORN, consistently opposed reforms (on the home mortgage industry)." ACORN is responsible for the mortgage crisis now? ACORN is a non-partisan voter registration organization- they don't have a damn thing to do with the financial markets.
The second one is another one of those stupid "Not Who You Think He Is" fliers from the Republican National Committee. On the front it says "America's Economy in Crisis. How Did We Get Here?" Answer? It's all the Democrats fault, of course. "Democrats dismissed fears the housing market was in jeopardy..." Uh, no, that was the Republicans. In fact, that was McCain himself declaring that the "Fundamentals of our economy are strong", whilst every news outlet that wasn't Fox was already pointing out that we were in a recession. It's got a quote from Bill Clinton- "I think the responsibility that the Democrats have may rest more in resisting any efforts by Republicans in the Congress, or by me when I was President, to put some standards & tighten up a little on Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac." They claim that he said this on Good Morning America on September 25th. I find it rather hard to believe he said any such thing when it's been the Republicans that were refusing to put any regulations on the mortgage companies- in fact, that was one of the reasons why a bunch of House Republicans voted against the bailout- and one of the things the Dems insisted on adding. All of which they admitted at the time, I might add. The flier also goes on to claim "Democrat's Plan Taxes All" (emphasis theirs- really). Now, I've seen what McCain's proposed for tax breaks on income tax & he taxed all income levels, too. So that begs the question of who is John McCain *not* planning to tax that Obama is taxing?
But the ultimate hypocrisy is the third one- again from the Republican Party of Pennsylvania. It has a big picture of McCain & Hillary Clinton smiling at each other on the front & says "With intensity & hard work, she left 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling". On the inside underneath a picture of McCain & Palin, it says, "America needs a steady hand to guide our nation in a time of terrorist threats. Senator Clinton said, '... we need a solid plan to restore our economy, to create jobs, & to provide health care.'" They leave out the part where McCain is anything but steady, has no solid plan to restore the economy or create jobs & his big idea on health care is to start taxing employee health benefits. It says further on "I share Senator Clinton's goal of promoting women to more important roles throughout our government. By the end of my first term, I promise you will see a dramatic increase in the presence of women in every part of the government. You have my word on it. (emphasis theirs). What he does *not* promise, I note, is to pay those women on par with men, which has been an issue with him. Perhaps that part of his plan to reduce government spending- giving more jobs to women so he can pay them less.
The really interesting thing is that the Republicans are trying to use the *Clintons* to con people into voting for them. That's either a Sign of the Impending Apocalypse or they are *really*, *really* desperate...
Still, it's a good thing I didn't see today's mail until after I got home from work, otherwise I might very well have stormed over to the Trophy Veep & demanded she explain the fliers I got today from various Fat Elephant-related groups. They are by *FAR* the most blatantly ridiculous pieces of bullshit propaganda that I have *ever* seen.
First is one that claims we have to vote Republican "to secure needed relief from today's rising gas prices, grocery bills & costly mortgages"" First off, gas prices are already falling. Second, it's the Republican's unregulated free-market policies that led to the mortgage crisis (which even Greenspan admitted to, although he doesn't understand why) which is why the economy's tanked. This one, which is from the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, goes on to claim "Democrats, siding with liberal fringe groups like ACORN, consistently opposed reforms (on the home mortgage industry)." ACORN is responsible for the mortgage crisis now? ACORN is a non-partisan voter registration organization- they don't have a damn thing to do with the financial markets.
The second one is another one of those stupid "Not Who You Think He Is" fliers from the Republican National Committee. On the front it says "America's Economy in Crisis. How Did We Get Here?" Answer? It's all the Democrats fault, of course. "Democrats dismissed fears the housing market was in jeopardy..." Uh, no, that was the Republicans. In fact, that was McCain himself declaring that the "Fundamentals of our economy are strong", whilst every news outlet that wasn't Fox was already pointing out that we were in a recession. It's got a quote from Bill Clinton- "I think the responsibility that the Democrats have may rest more in resisting any efforts by Republicans in the Congress, or by me when I was President, to put some standards & tighten up a little on Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac." They claim that he said this on Good Morning America on September 25th. I find it rather hard to believe he said any such thing when it's been the Republicans that were refusing to put any regulations on the mortgage companies- in fact, that was one of the reasons why a bunch of House Republicans voted against the bailout- and one of the things the Dems insisted on adding. All of which they admitted at the time, I might add. The flier also goes on to claim "Democrat's Plan Taxes All" (emphasis theirs- really). Now, I've seen what McCain's proposed for tax breaks on income tax & he taxed all income levels, too. So that begs the question of who is John McCain *not* planning to tax that Obama is taxing?
But the ultimate hypocrisy is the third one- again from the Republican Party of Pennsylvania. It has a big picture of McCain & Hillary Clinton smiling at each other on the front & says "With intensity & hard work, she left 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling". On the inside underneath a picture of McCain & Palin, it says, "America needs a steady hand to guide our nation in a time of terrorist threats. Senator Clinton said, '... we need a solid plan to restore our economy, to create jobs, & to provide health care.'" They leave out the part where McCain is anything but steady, has no solid plan to restore the economy or create jobs & his big idea on health care is to start taxing employee health benefits. It says further on "I share Senator Clinton's goal of promoting women to more important roles throughout our government. By the end of my first term, I promise you will see a dramatic increase in the presence of women in every part of the government. You have my word on it. (emphasis theirs). What he does *not* promise, I note, is to pay those women on par with men, which has been an issue with him. Perhaps that part of his plan to reduce government spending- giving more jobs to women so he can pay them less.
The really interesting thing is that the Republicans are trying to use the *Clintons* to con people into voting for them. That's either a Sign of the Impending Apocalypse or they are *really*, *really* desperate...