If the truth be known... Now that we've had a chance to see Sarah Palin and to hear her speak -- or at least read the big rolling white block letters on the teleprompter in front of her -- we can see that she's prone to telling whoppers. >Now we know politicians as a group have a propensity to embellish the >truth -- particularly when describing their opponents or themselves --and >even to lie outright, but Palin does it so well, she's like a George Bush >with reading and pronunciation skills. > >In her acceptance speech last night, Palin told a whole string of lies. My >favorite was talking about little Trig, her latest offspring, who was born >with Down syndrome. Looking right out into the camera, she told the >parents of America with special needs children that if she and John McCain >win in November, "You'll have an advocate in Washington." > >Hard to square that with the truth, though, which is that as governor, >Palin has proposed a reduction in funds for special needs grants to >schools in both her budgets -- this at a time when the state of Alaska has >been benefiting from record oil tax revenues, which Palin is pushing to >return to citizens as cash rebates. > >Left unsaid by Palin was the fact that McCain himself, in Congress, has >voted against funding for the Head Start program, an early childhood >program particularly important to children of teen mothers, and that he >has opposed bills to increase funding for special education. So in fact, >parents of children with special needs such as Trig not only won't have an >advocate in the vice president's office, but also they won't have an >advocate in the White House either. > >Palin has also tried to turn a family tragedy -- her 17-year old daughter >Bristol's getting pregnant by a local self-described 18-year-old "redneck" >athlete from the same high school -- into a virtue by saying that she and >her husband will be helping their daughter "keep the child" and raise it. >To keep things cool in the eyes of god, she also announced that the two >teen parents would be getting married. Both kids were prominently on >display at the Republican National Convention during her speech. > >What Palin didn't tell convention-goers or the national viewing audience >was that as governor, she cut the funds for a program in the state to >support single teen mothers and that as a PTA member, mayor, and finally >as governor of Alaska, she has opposed sex education in the schools -- >something her daughter and future son-in-law clearly could have used. Less >advantaged single mothers in Alaska and, should she be elected, in the >rest of America, will not have a friend in the Blair House. She also >failed to mention that McCain has voted against funding of teen pregnancy >prevention programs in Congress. > >Palin continued, in her acceptance speech, to spout another lie that she >had already been making in her first days on the stump since being picked >by McCain as his choice for running mate: she had said "No thank you" to >the $439-million "Bridge to Nowhere" which, as perhaps the biggest single >earmark in a year of record earmarks last year had become a national joke >line. The truth: Palin backed that bridge, and was even ready to add state >funding to get it built, until it became a national joke. Then she thought >better, and killed the bridge, while still taking the money, which the >state's senior senator, Ted Stevens now under indictment for taking bribes >from contractors) , had earmarked. > >Palin went on to lie about her opponent, Barack Obama's, tax plan, saying >it would raise taxes on businesses and on all Americans. In fact, Obama's >plan calls for lowering the corporate profits tax, while increasing the >tax on dividends and capital gains, both of which fall not on businesses >but on investors, and for lowering taxes on most Americans, while raising >them for people earning over $250,000. > >John McCain likes to ride around in a bus he dubs the "Straight-Talk Express." > >Sarah Palin, in her debut on the national stage since being named as >McCain's Number Two, has lied enough times to deserve the sobriquet Sure >A. Pallin'. > >DAVE LINDORFF is a Philadelphia- based journalist and columnist. His latest >book is "The Case for Impeachment" (St. Martin's Press, 2006 and now >available in paperback). His work is available at www.thiscantbehappe ning.net. > >http://www.buzzflas h.com/articles/ lindorff/ 137 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.zazzle.com/TamarMag* Tamar Mag Raine [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ----------------------- To change your mail settings or leave the C-PALSY list, go here: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?SUBED1=c-palsy