Apparently, there's a new award that's being awarded (duh) this year. Just be thankful that it won't involve Lady Gaga or Mister GooGoo or anyone like that. No, this is an award that seems to have been dreamed up by the fact-y folks over there at PolitiFact.com. The award is Lie of the Year and according to an article written by a one Johanna Neuman over there in a blog at the LA Times, there was online polling and one lie came out far ahead of the rest (as determined by those who voted in the online poll which PolitiFact just made up, that is correct). Let's see if this sounds familiar, shall we?
"The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil." Sound familiar? Of course it does. And it was uttered by none other than the one, the only (thank God), former half term Governor from the state of Alaska, Sarah Palin. Now, I'm not so sure if that's really more of a statement about Sarah 
Palin or if that's more of a statement about everyone who believed it. Actually, it's probably a statement about both, now that I think about it. And thinking about it would have really behooved some of those who believed it and ran with it before trying to determine if there was any sort of validity to it what so ever (which there wasn't, by the way). But there's no time for thinking when there's a ruckus to start up! Pitchforks! Torches! Everyone with me?! No? What? Good.
Palin or if that's more of a statement about everyone who believed it. Actually, it's probably a statement about both, now that I think about it. And thinking about it would have really behooved some of those who believed it and ran with it before trying to determine if there was any sort of validity to it what so ever (which there wasn't, by the way). But there's no time for thinking when there's a ruckus to start up! Pitchforks! Torches! Everyone with me?! No? What? Good. But when I compare that statement to the others that were in the running, I find it interesting that it
was the Sarah Palin statement that "won". It makes me wonder if that's a reflection of how many people out there are really not buying into the whole charade that Sarah Palin is supposed to be the unnamed savior of this country. (She's not, by the way. She seems like a nice lady and she has a lot of great ideas and does a lot of things is a swell manner, but I don't think I want her as the President of this country. It takes more than being nice to...oh. Wait a minute. Isn't that kind of how President Barry got elected? Yeah, never mind. She'd win. Carry on.) I'm hoping that this "award" will grow some legs and be reported somewhere besides blogs. (Because we all know how blogger can be. Sheesh!)
was the Sarah Palin statement that "won". It makes me wonder if that's a reflection of how many people out there are really not buying into the whole charade that Sarah Palin is supposed to be the unnamed savior of this country. (She's not, by the way. She seems like a nice lady and she has a lot of great ideas and does a lot of things is a swell manner, but I don't think I want her as the President of this country. It takes more than being nice to...oh. Wait a minute. Isn't that kind of how President Barry got elected? Yeah, never mind. She'd win. Carry on.) I'm hoping that this "award" will grow some legs and be reported somewhere besides blogs. (Because we all know how blogger can be. Sheesh!)
So who were the runners-up, you ask? Well, I asked! In no particular order, other than the fact that they're all lies told by liars, we have "Glenn Beck's claim that Obama science advisor John Holdren favored forced abortions." Hmmm. Forced abortions, eh? Gotta tell ya, I've met some folks in my time who have reproduced and...well....it's never going to happen and it's a pretty horrible concept, but having met some of the folks that I have, it's not a completely unwarranted thought. (Oh, lay off! You're thinking the same thing! What about that dumbass neighbor of yours with the kid that got your brand new screwdriver stuck in nose? Sometimes the gene pool is just so shallow, it almost makes more sense to just drain it than it does to keep skimming the bottom and hoping for something good to come up.) Another of the also rans was "Orange County dentist Orly Taitz's claim that Obama was born in
Kenya, which helped spark the birther movement." Tell me something. How did this one not win?! That is the most ridiculous thing that anyone has ever come up with and it didn't win?! It's more outrageous than the death panel claim, if you're asking me! It actually scares me that this one did not win because I'm worried that it really grew legs to the point where it couldn't have won (you know, due to all of the people who are still questioning it). Wake up, folks! He's not a Kenyan! And he's not a Muslim! (I always like to throw that last part in there whenever I get the chance. And since it wasn't one of the runners-up in this story, I like to think that I've really been doing some good by always harping on that FACT.)
Kenya, which helped spark the birther movement." Tell me something. How did this one not win?! That is the most ridiculous thing that anyone has ever come up with and it didn't win?! It's more outrageous than the death panel claim, if you're asking me! It actually scares me that this one did not win because I'm worried that it really grew legs to the point where it couldn't have won (you know, due to all of the people who are still questioning it). Wake up, folks! He's not a Kenyan! And he's not a Muslim! (I always like to throw that last part in there whenever I get the chance. And since it wasn't one of the runners-up in this story, I like to think that I've really been doing some good by always harping on that FACT.) 
Finally we have "Vice President Joe Biden's claim that swine flu spread because “when one person sneezes, it goes all the way through the aircraft.” :::: sigh :::: Are we the land of the wacky Vice President now? It used to be just the wacky Presidential sibling and/or child. Billy Carter. Roger Clinton. Patty Reagan. Granted, we had Dan Quayle there for a while. But he wasn't as much wacky as he was just a doughhead, really. Biden misspeaks and says cuckoo bird things almost as much as GW did. (Almost as much. No one can top GW in terms hilarity for what came out of his mouth. Every day that man gave people around the globe new material to work with. I kinda miss that. Don't get me wrong, I don't miss GW. I just miss having instantaneous blog fodder whenever he opened his mouth.) I'm pretty sure that the Biden quote shouldn't have won for Lie of the Year, mainly because I don't
think that he was lying. I think that's what he actually thought. I think that Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and that nutjob dentist chick all know that they're not being honest. Glenn Beck especially. That guy has taken what he does (heighten panic through inducing fear) to an art form. (I don't watch his show very often, but I have to ask this: Does he cry on every episode? Every time I catch his act, his eyes are all red and his face is all damp.)
think that he was lying. I think that's what he actually thought. I think that Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and that nutjob dentist chick all know that they're not being honest. Glenn Beck especially. That guy has taken what he does (heighten panic through inducing fear) to an art form. (I don't watch his show very often, but I have to ask this: Does he cry on every episode? Every time I catch his act, his eyes are all red and his face is all damp.) But the Biden misspeaks at least give us the damage control patrol done by Robert Gibbs, the 
Press Secretary. I don't know who that guy thinks he's kidding some of the time, but the answer is no one. Gibbsey is an interesting act, but he can't put quite the spin that he wants to on certain things. His response/explanation to what Veep-y Joe said was "I think that what the Vice President meant to say was again, the same thing that many members have said in the last few days and that is if you feel sick, if you are exhibiting symptoms, flu-like symptoms, coughing, sneezing, uh, runny nose, uh, that you should take precautions, that you should, uh, limit your travel, and I think, uh, what he said and what he meant to say." When pressed by the extremely awesome Jake Tapper of ABC News, Gibbsey replied, "Jake, I understand what he said and I'm telling you what he meant to say." That was met with a fair amount of laughter from the press corp there that day. And how could they not have laughed? That's hilarious.
Press Secretary. I don't know who that guy thinks he's kidding some of the time, but the answer is no one. Gibbsey is an interesting act, but he can't put quite the spin that he wants to on certain things. His response/explanation to what Veep-y Joe said was "I think that what the Vice President meant to say was again, the same thing that many members have said in the last few days and that is if you feel sick, if you are exhibiting symptoms, flu-like symptoms, coughing, sneezing, uh, runny nose, uh, that you should take precautions, that you should, uh, limit your travel, and I think, uh, what he said and what he meant to say." When pressed by the extremely awesome Jake Tapper of ABC News, Gibbsey replied, "Jake, I understand what he said and I'm telling you what he meant to say." That was met with a fair amount of laughter from the press corp there that day. And how could they not have laughed? That's hilarious. But back to the Lie of the Year...Former half term Governor Palin has responded to her "winning"
the dubious distinction by taking to scribing on her Facebook page. (My God, people! Get off of Facebook! Knock it off! I am so sick of hearing the word Facebook! Stop it!) She wrote, in part, "Though Nancy Pelosi and friends have tried to call “death panels” the “lie of the year,” this type of rationing – what the CBO calls “reduc[ed] access to care” and “diminish[ed] quality of care” – is precisely what I meant when I used that metaphor."
the dubious distinction by taking to scribing on her Facebook page. (My God, people! Get off of Facebook! Knock it off! I am so sick of hearing the word Facebook! Stop it!) She wrote, in part, "Though Nancy Pelosi and friends have tried to call “death panels” the “lie of the year,” this type of rationing – what the CBO calls “reduc[ed] access to care” and “diminish[ed] quality of care” – is precisely what I meant when I used that metaphor." Um, Nancy Pelosi doesn't work at PolitiFact.com. I mean, she didn't the last 
time I checked. No, last time I checked she was ridiculously close to being successor to the position of President of the United States, a scenario which scares the holy S out of me. But here's the thing, Mrs. Palin. You can't use a metaphor unless it is clear that is what you are doing. You can't use a metaphor and totally act like you haven't used a metaphor. You can't use a metaphor and then continue to drive that same metaphor into the ground without clarifying what it is that you were trying to say. You can't just take the one thing that (softheaded) people are really afraid of and then throw it out there in pretty simple terms (so that their soft, soft craniums can absorb it more easily) and not expect it to be taken literally. You just can't. But you did. And that's why you're winning the Lie of the Year award from PolitiFact.com.
time I checked. No, last time I checked she was ridiculously close to being successor to the position of President of the United States, a scenario which scares the holy S out of me. But here's the thing, Mrs. Palin. You can't use a metaphor unless it is clear that is what you are doing. You can't use a metaphor and totally act like you haven't used a metaphor. You can't use a metaphor and then continue to drive that same metaphor into the ground without clarifying what it is that you were trying to say. You can't just take the one thing that (softheaded) people are really afraid of and then throw it out there in pretty simple terms (so that their soft, soft craniums can absorb it more easily) and not expect it to be taken literally. You just can't. But you did. And that's why you're winning the Lie of the Year award from PolitiFact.com. And actually, that "taken aback" attitude that you seem to have over your dubious honors might just earn you one of the runners-up award as well! Congratulations!
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