Pants On Fire

We all lie. Don't kid yourself or mutter, 'Not me.' Everybody does it. Sometimes you do it out of anger or jealousy; sometimes you do it to be nice. We've all done the 'Oh, yeah, I like those shoes' when deep down inside you're wondering if there was a sale at the clown shoe store.

But what are the repercussions of lying? If you, say, badmouth someone you called a friend to his family, what price do you pay? Is there forgiveness? Is there forget-ness? What are the consequences of lying?

Just recently we heard that Sarah Palin, AKA Governor Quitter, used her Facebook page to condemn President Obama's health care plans as consisting of "death panels" where she would have to appear with her son Trig, who has Down Syndrome, and the panel would decide if Trig was worthy of receiving medical care; she also painted the death panels as willing to kill Grandma because she had outlived her usefulness as a citizen.

Of course, the next day she backtracked and said we needed a civil discussion, but her words were already out there. Her words, which we have come to learn, were, in fact, lies.

Now comes evidence that just last year, in April 2008, before she ran and lost the Veep slot, and before she quit being governor because it was too hard, Sarah Palin endorsed some of the same end of life counseling she now decries as a form of euthanasia.

Huh? What? Huh?

Palin, in a proclamation for “Healthcare Decisions Day,” urged public facilities to provide better information about advance directives, and made it clear that it is critical for seniors to be informed of such options. She promoted counseling related to end of life care and medical decision-making whenever patients are unable to speak for themselves and to encourage the specific use of advance directives to communicate these important healthcare decisions.

Hmmm, sounds a little like a death panel, Sarah.

Did Sarah admit her lie? Did she come forward and say that although she condemned President Obama's plans she was in favor of many of the same ideas? No, the proclamation was simply deleted from the Quitter's website.

Of course, she's not the only one speaking out of both sides of her ass. Newt Gingrich, that pillar of ineptitude and double standards, also endorsed end-of-life counseling, saying only months ago, that advance directives can "save money" while also helping to “decrease the stress felt by caregivers.” Now, Newt is on the death panel bandwagon.
But what are the repercussions for Palin's and Gingrich's lies? And don't kid yourself and believe they simply changed their mind. It's a strictly partisan attempt to speak out against the president. Palin and Gingrich have lied.

Hold them accountable.

Also, let's hold accountable the Arizona Republican Party. They seem to be masters of manipulation and lies, using a new brand of propaganda to fight health care reform: Photoshop.

The Arizona GOP is peddling a picture of a haggard-looking Barack Obama, a cigarette dangling from his lips, with the caption:
Broken promises, rampant government spending, and Chicago-style politics have marred the first 200 days of the Obama Presidency according to Arizona Republican Chairman Randy Pullen.

Now, we all know that a picture is worth a thousand words, or maybe, the GOP hopes a hundred thousand votes, and how high and mighty they must feel to have that elusive shot of Obama smoking, just as he is touring the country talking health care reform. How can we trust a president who touts health care reform while he's smoking?

But here's the rub.

The image, the original image was taken in August of 2003, long before Obama was even a presidential candidate, much less the president. Bad enough right? Using a six-year-old photo as though it was a recent snapshot? But it gets worse, as only the GOP can.

In the original picture there wasn't even a cigarette in his mouth. Yes, the GOP trotted out an old picture of Obama and pasted a cigarette on it and use it to tell Americans not to trust this nicotine addict on health care.

Don't trust him?

It's the GOP who lied.
It's Sarah Palin who lied.
It's Newt Gingrich who lied.
And what are the repercussions of their lies?

I don't know if they'll be any. but I do know that, as we move ahead, I'll be one to remember their lies and to remind you all of their lies and tell you, once again, that we don't need that kind of politics anymore.

That's a repercussion.