Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Liar, Liar pants on fire...


So we all have heard about Representative Joe Wilson from South Carolina who shouted out that President Obama was lying last week during an address to Congress. First, let me say that I do not think this was in good taste, and frankly was in very poor taste. What I find remarkable, yet predictable, is the reaction from his peers and the media.

Rep. Wilson has been called everything but a Child of God. The favorite of many in the media, and many Obama supporters is that he is a racist. None other than former President Jimmy Carter has stated that Wilson's behavior is rooted in racism. The Congressional Black Caucas, has condemned his outburst and accused him directly of racism. Racism? An accusation against a white man of racism by an organization called the Congressional Black Caucus? Really? Any day now I am sure the Congressional Caucasian Caucus will back him. I won't hold my breath.

Any time a white person disagrees with someone of a different race we are accused of being a racist. I checked on Merriam-Webster online. The definition of racism is not that one person disagrees with another person of a different race. The definition given is:
1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
2 : racial prejudice or discrimination

So I ask, how was Mr. Wilson guilty of racial prejudice or how was he guilty of showing that he was convinced that his race is inherently better than the race of the president (who has a bit of Caucasian in him if I remember correctly)?

This is a great ploy used by those on the liberal side in our country. Once accused of racism, you really cannot do anything to get that reputation to disappear. This is quite similar to being accused of abuse of a child. That will ruin your reputation and life quickly. While both may not be true, and both could be complete fabrications, that does not mean simply because you dispute it and may have some proof to support you that all will be cleared up. Oh no. You must apologize many multiple of times, even to those you have have never met. You must find ways to make amends and many times, if you are a political conservative, the outrage eventually leads to your ouster from office or loss of your job.

Now those on the liberal side can say anything. They can accuse a president of lying, or misleading, of being disingenuous, or leading the country down a path to certain destruction. You can say anything you want. You can hide many thousands of dollars in your freezer (see Jefferson, William). You can "forget" to report large amounts of income yet get off without penalty. Oh, and you are in charge of the House Ways and Means Committee which writes legislation related to taxes and other money related issues (see Rangel, Charlie). You can be the mayor of Washington D.C., get caught using crack cocaine in a sting, yet accuse everyone involved of racism (see Barry, Marion). And lest I be accused of racism because none of those is white, you can even kill a woman. That is right, you can actually kill someone and get away with it (see Kennedy, Edward). Liberals are not forced to apologize when they call conservatives liars or worse. Liberals are not forced to resign from office when they break ethics rules and regulations. Liberals can pretty much do whatever they please.

Unless you listen to a conservative news source (Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Neal Boortz, etc.) you will hear very little about this. How much do any of us know about Democrat malfeasance simply by watching the news like our parents did on ABC World News Tonight or a source like that?

It is time we hold the media's feet to the fire. We should expect honest reporting. How can we expect honesty from news sources when they endorse candidates? That should stop now. Yet more than the media, we should expect decorum, honesty and responsibility from our "representatives" in Washington.

When will we stand up to politicians that look at many thousands of protestors and say, "This does not represent main stream America"? Emanuel, Rahm said that one.

When will we make sure our voices are heard and adhered to? How stupid do they think we are? President Obama stated in his address that this health care plan would not increase our debt at all. He said we would eliminate waste from Medicare and Medicaid. Well if we know there is waste, why wait, why not eliminate it now? That is just stupid. In addition, we have tons of debt. So we are going to add a new program, we have no money, how are we going to pay for it? Are we going to set up lemonade stands?

At the dentist office yesterday, I heard two ladies discussing the health care plan. One said to another, "I think it is great that the government will provide this for us. And we won't have to pay anything." I could not resist. I asked her, "Where will the money come from to pay for this program?" She said, " The government." I asked her what good or service was the government going to start selling so they had revenue to pay for it. She looked at me in much the same as a possum looks at a car right before meeting the tires. I then asked her how efficient she thinks our government is with our money. She had a predictable response, which was, "Not very." And then I asked her the magic question: "Do you really want our inefficient government playing with your health and even more of your money?" This time she resembled a brook trout. After a brief silence, they called me back. Where my insurance will pay for some of my crown and then I will pay for the rest. At a dentist of my choosing. Not one chosen for me.

I am not saying the president is a liar. I have not read the bill or his plan, and we will have to simply rely on others to tell us what is there. What I will say is that the plan the President wants does not matter. What matters is what is passed by Congress. So on that the President has not been completely honest.

If you are not completely honest that means you are not telling the whole truth. That equates to lying.

I better be careful. I might be accused of being a racist.

5 comments:

  1. You can even be a former KKK member without being racist as long as you're a liberal (see Byrd, Robert).

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  2. Ed, I have read a decent chunk of the bill, and I will go ahead and say that, while our president may not be a "liar", he was glossing over things and stretching the truth tighter than spandex on a fat kid.
    I'm glad you spoke up at your dentist's office. I heard a conversation like this in the grocery store recently and just stood there, dumbfounded at what I could only guess was either ignorance or such selfishness as to be willing to take from others to better themselves.
    And don't get me started on Joe Wilson. I was incredulous when I heard the accusation of racism. Really, racism?!? Disrespect, yes. But racism?? Not by a long shot.
    All this to say... thanks for bringing up some of this stuff. It frustrates me like crazy.

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  3. ...and by the way, I was waiting for Nancy Pelosi's head to spin off her neck or for her to bore a hole through Joe Wilson when that happened. That part kind of made me laugh a little. :)

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  4. In all fairness, I feel like I have to address a couple of items.

    I think the phrase, “Liberals can pretty much do whatever they please” is a big stretch, Of the examples you mentioned, you failed to mention all of their stories:

    William Jefferson—convicted of 11 felonies and awaiting sentencing.
    Marion Barry—convicted and served time in prison, and since I live in DC, he’s always in trouble over something. He’s not exactly living the “high life”.
    Edward Kennedy—let’s be fair—was it ever proven that he “killed” anyone? Bad judgment and fleeing the scene of a crime is one thing—killing is another. He was never convicted, but it ruined any presidential ambitions he had.
    All of these and many more (John Edwards, Rod Blagojevich, John Jenrette, etc) have faced consequences of their actions, in some fashion.

    Let’s face it--neither party has an advantage when it comes to corruption and greed. Unfortunately there are multiple examples on both sides of the aisle. Just a couple from the Rep side to even things out:
    Ted Stevens (R, Alaska)- indicted and convicted by a Grand Jury in Alaska.
    John Ensign (R, Nevada) admitted to an affair with one of his female staff members.
    Larry Craig (R, Idaho) and the restroom stall “foot tapping “ event.
    Duke Cunningham (R, California)-currently in prison for accepting bribes.
    Gov Sanford (R, SC)---do I even need to mention him?

    And an earlier comment made mention of Robert Byrd being a member of the KKK…is that any worse than Strom Thurmond, who served until he was 100 and, lest we forget, was the head of the Dixiecrat Party before becoming the lovechild of the Republican Party. And yes, somewhere in there he had an affair with his black maid and bore a “love-child”--this was after he gave the longest filibuster in US history—opposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964! (By the way…guess who one of the leading politicians was who “attacked” Strom’s out-of-wedlock daughter and called her a liar? Yes…none other than Joe Wilson.)

    Politicians are like everyone else—deeply flawed, inherently selfish and will always disappoint in the end. My personal opinion—we all bring something good to the table, and labels (“conservative”, “liberal”, “etc) simply divide and do more harm than good. I think we can disagree without being disrespectful and rude.

    And yes—I am from South Carolina.

    Finally, I might add, I have government health care and its great.

    Spinner

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  5. Well,

    What I really mean is those from the liberal side of our country get a pass from most of the media on their misdeeds. They often do face legal litigation, just as they should, and just like those from the other side deserve as well. You just won't hear MSNBC reporting it very much. I was not very clear on my meaning.

    As for Kennedy, while he may not have intentionally killed Miss Kopechne, when the accident happened he did little to nothing to help her. That is often charged as negligent homicide. And as for running for president, he did run in 1980 against a sitting president from the same party. That was the reason he did not win nomination. At least that is what my somewhat foggy memory can produce.

    Your health care is provided as a benefit, not as an entitlement. I don't think they are telling you which doctors to use, telling you how much health care you can actually get or really regulate your use of health care in any way. You may have deductibles or something like that, yet that is set by the company your employer has chosen to use, not by some pencil pusher in Washington or worse, some legislator. At least that is what most employers do. So please correct me if I am wrong.

    I do believe that most people have some great ideas and MOST go into government service with the idea that they want to make a difference. It appears to me that something happens along the way. They either get disenchanted, get "bought" by some special interest group, get swept up by their party and only vote along party lines or simply care more about being elected and keeping their job than serving those they are there to represent. Call me cynical, yet that is how it appears to me.

    I agree that we can disagree without being rude. I think Representative Wilson was rude at best in his behavior towards President Obama. Perhaps some folks could call him rude without calling him a racist. That is what got be going on this anyway.

    I appreciate your thoughts.

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