Tag Archives: RSS kirk

Blog, Featured: Who Is Mark Kirk?

“Who is Mark Kirk?” is a question many voters have been asking recently, and with good reason. With the uncovering of a plethora of resume embellishments the political identity of Mr. Kirk is very much in question. Although unsettling, perhaps the issue deserving of the most consternation is the disconnect between the public’s perception of his stances and the reality evidenced by endorsements and voting record.

Mark Kirk has claimed to be a moderate Republican who has represented himself as champion of the environment (did you know that all by himself “”Mark Kirk stood up to Big Oil when he stopped BP from polluting Lake Michigan?”), women’s right to choose and gay rights. These views have endeared him to the voters of the district, but it’s time to see beyond the smoke and mirrors. It’s no surprise the voters have bought Kirk’s stated agenda. So have various organizations including Planned Parenthood, the Sierra Club, the League of Conservation Voters, and the Human Rights Campaign. An impressive list to be sure, with one quality in common; in the last year each of them has pulled their endorsement in favor of Alexi Giannoulias. The loss of the backing of these organizations highlights the illusions of his campaign claims. Read More »

Blog: Fools, Liars, and Manipulation

I’ve never been a big fan of Mark Kirk because of his total lack of leadership and his flip-flopping on most issues and his 90% lemming voting record with Bush and am glad to see him at last doing something well: shooting himself in the foot.  What is so interesting about that is Kirk’s generation lived through Lyndon Johnson and his lies (think: credibility gap), Richard Nixon and his lies (think: Watergate cover up), Bush and his lies (think: nearly anything) and it’s never the act that gets them; it’s the cover up.  And it doesn’t take a Woodward and Bernstein shoe leather investigation any more to expose the liars.  Anyone with a laptop can fact check in minutes.
Which brings us to the point.  Fools, liars and manipulators will always be who they are and will always be fools, will lie and will try to manipulate.  Something about leopards and spots comes to mind.  We need to look up from our own personal space and pay critical attention to what those who would be leaders try to slip down our throats.  If you really are paying attention, you may find that some of it doesn’t taste very good.  Some is bitter propaganda; some is poisonous lying; some is hemlock.
That’s probably enough of that metaphor.  Here is the point:
  • Our sons, daughters, brothers, grandchildren and spouses are fighting in wars without end and without clear purpose and they are being killed and maimed at an increasing rate.
  • Our economy has struggled and will continue to struggle for years and the recession has caused personal disaster for millions of Americans.
We are faced with worldwide ocean contamination, the results of which may be catastrophic.
The list could go on at length, but the common denominator in all of them is that they were spawned by lies.
In fact, every one of the lies was perpetrated by far right wing conservatives.  So, WAKE UP!  Get beyond your personal needs and face the truth, that your children and grandchildren are counting on you to prevent the fools, liars and manipulators from ruining our country and our world.

I’ve never been a big fan of Mark Kirk because of his total lack of leadership and his flip-flopping on most issues and his 90% lemming voting record with Bush and am glad to see him at last doing something well: shooting himself in the foot.  What is so interesting about that is Kirk’s generation lived through Lyndon Johnson and his lies (think: credibility gap), Richard Nixon and his lies (think: Watergate cover up), Bush and his lies (think: nearly anything) and it’s never the act that gets them; it’s the cover up.  And it doesn’t take a Woodward and Bernstein shoe leather investigation any more to expose the liars.  Anyone with a laptop can fact check in minutes.   Which brings us to the point.  Fools, liars and manipulators will always be who they are and will always be fools, will lie and will try to manipulate.  Something about leopards and spots comes to mind.  We need to look up from our own personal space and pay critical attention to what those who would be leaders try to slip down our throats.  If you really are paying attention, you may find that some of it doesn’t taste very good.  Some is bitter propaganda; some is poisonous lying; some is hemlock.   That’s probably enough of that metaphor.  Here is the point:Our sons, daughters, brothers, grandchildren and spouses are fighting in wars without end and without clear purpose and they are being killed and maimed at an increasing rate.Our economy has struggled and will continue to struggle for years and the recession has caused personal disaster for millions of Americans.We are faced with worldwide ocean contamination, the results of which may be catastrophic.

The list could go on at length, but the common denominator in all of them is that they were spawned by lies. In fact, every one of the lies was perpetrated by far right wing conservatives.  So, WAKE UP!  Get beyond your personal needs and face the truth, that your children and grandchildren are counting on you to prevent the fools, liars and manipulators from ruining our country and our world.