Monday, September 08, 2008

Truth? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Truth….


I woke up this morning with a sinking feeling in my stomach and now I know why; two national polls are showing that the McCain/Palin ticket is ahead. I’m beyond disappointed beyond disbelief. I’m in that horrible state of resignation. Sort of what I imagine it must be like to find yourself stuck in quicksand. You fight for a while and then stop because you reach a point where you know it’s over. So, you stop fighting and allow yourself to slowly sink out of sight. I’m sinking. We’re all sinking.
See, it doesn’t matter that we keep pointing out that Palin is a liar or that McCain is a liar. It doesn’t matter because no one is listening. They’ve bought the new, improved Republican product and it doesn’t matter that it doesn’t work. Truth is boring. It requires actual time and attention to understand and people today don’t have time. It’s easier to just assume that everything is going to be okay. Easier to believe that, “it can’t happen here,” it being fascism. Well folks, I hate to tell you but it is happening here. Surprise!
I hope I’m wrong. I hope I stop resigning myself to slowly sinking deeper into quicksand. I don’t want to go under, I want to scream for help but how can that help if no one is listening? Sigh. Sorry for the downer thoughts but it’s what I’m feeling right now. We’re screaming for help and no one is listening.

Monday, September 01, 2008

The Uh-Oh Moment


The Uh-Oh Moment

Back in 1999, when I first heard George W. Bush had decided to run for President, my first reaction was, “Uh oh.” Didn’t matter that he was a knucklehead. As a Texan, I’d seen him win the Governorship in Texas using lies and dirty tricks so as soon as I heard the news, I knew we were sunk. Enter Sarah Palin. My first reaction when I heard the news of her candidacy was “Uh oh.”

It’s George W. Bush all over again. I smell a Rovian rat. Take an unqualified but sellable personality, and create a candidate. Doesn’t matter that Palin thinks the Pledge of Allegiance was created by our Founding Fathers! What do facts and knowledge have to do with running the country? She’s not going to be making any decisions on her own because she’s there to do as she’s told. Besides, most people don’t know that the Pledge of Allegiance was created in the 20th century and it’s precisely this lack of knowledge that makes it so easy for Rove and those like him to sell the people a wolf in a sheep’s clothing. Already, the news today of Palin’s daughter’s pregnancy, instead of torpedoing her candidacy, is already being spun as a wonderful story of parental support for a child in need. These people know how to turn crap into gold.

We’re in trouble. Obama and Biden are the real deal but up against the propaganda masters, their message will be lost because we’re up against theatrics here, folks. Palin as a candidate is all about image and nothing about qualifications. She can be sold. Mass marketed to a willing public who want nothing more than cheap goods that aren’t made to last, only to look good.

We’ve got to fight it by exposing the wolf underneath. We’ve got to pull off the sheep’s skin and expose them for the liars they are! But how? The media is not on our side and unfortunately, a lot of voters are ready, willing and able to buy the lies because a large number still operate under the delusion that those in authority would never lie to us. How do we fix this? How?