The liberal web sites were on fire today, but not about Hillary Clinton's appointment as Secretary of State or Tim Geithner's elevation to the Treasury Department, or the six percent jump the Dow took in the last hour of trading. No, as so often happens, the liberal web sites were hysterical about...Sarah Palin.
Governor Palin has returned to Alaska and one might have thought, out of sight, out of mind. But no: the liberals' weird obsession continues unabated. What has Governor Palin done now? In a light-hearted scene that is staged by governors around the country, she "pardoned" a turkey that consequently won't be eaten for Thanksgiving dinner.
After the pardoning ceremony, she stayed and gave a brief interview to a television reporter. The interview was entirely non-controversial; here it is:
But note: the turkey-pardoning ceremony took place, naturally enough, at a turkey farm. Why do you think they raise turkeys--millions of them--on turkey farms? That's right! They raise them and then slaughter them, so we can eat them! Which is why the governor's turkey-pardoning ceremony makes sense. Unless so "pardoned," turkeys don't tend to die of old age.
What has liberals a-twitter is that--this being a turkey farm and all--someone starts killing a couple of turkeys in the background while Palin's interview is going on and she doesn't seem to care! She continues as though nothing were happening!
This suggests other dire possibilities. When Governor Palin and her husband take their commercial fishing boat out into the ocean for 24 hours at a time, braving high winds and waves, and succeed in hauling salmon into their boat, they don't catch and release the fish! Instead, they let them die so that people can eat them! And we won't even start on what happens when Palin hunts moose or caribou. Did you know that those aren't rubber bullets?
Yes, it's quite a scandal in Liberal Land. Sarah Palin actually doesn't mind when turkeys are killed, almost in her very presence. Which is the rub, I suppose. Unlike the Governor, most liberals make sure they're somewhere else when animals are being slaughtered for food.
But this explanation must be inadequate. Surely liberals would not express such horror if they too eat animals that have been slaughtered for their benefit. There is only one explanation that fully covers the case (and explains the title of this post): liberals must not eat turkeys that have been slaughtered by others. They must, instead, eat turkeys that are still alive, like oysters! I never would have imagined such a thing, but I don't see what else we can conclude from their horror over the turkey-massacre in Alaska.
Maryland Democrat Sen. Barbara Mikulski just wrapped up her pitch for another temporary stimulus gimmick — short-term tax incentives to car buyers. Unfortunately, she got Missouri GOP Sen. Kit Bond to co-sponsor this $2-3 billion feel-good amendment. The details:
The U.S. Congress will consider legislation next week to provide temporary tax incentives to car buyers, U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., said Wednesday, part of a broad Democratic agenda to stabilize the auto sector.
Under the bill she plans to introduce in a coming lame-duck session, interest payments on car loans, and sales and excise taxes would be tax-deductible, Mikulski said. The program, which would apply to new vehicles purchased through the end of 2009, would be part of legislation designed to stimulate the economy.
Speaking to reporters at a Chevrolet dealership in Bethesda, Md., Mikulski said her proposal would “stimulate” car sales and ultimately preserve blue- collar jobs.
“It is the best way to help the American automobile industry,” said Mikulski, a member of the Appropriations Committee.
The proposal could be politically safer than a separate initiative to compel the Bush administration to spend part of the $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan on auto makers. That initiative, being pushed by Democratic leaders in the U.S. House and Senate, is also to be taken up next week.
Mikulski estimated that under her proposal, buyers of a $25,000 Dodge minivan would save $1,553. The incentives would apply to loans of up to $49,500. Households with incomes above $250,000 would not be eligible.
The estimated the cost of the proposal would be between $2 billion and $3 billion, she said.
Three quick points:
1) Now, these same Democrats who scream about global warming want Americans to buy more cars?
2) If they think these tax incentives are such good ideas, go ahead and make them permanent. Go. Ahead.
3) Spending beyond our means is what got this country into trouble in this first place. This kind of temporary political gimmickry is going to exacerbate the problem. Encouraging people to take out $50,000 car loans before the end of the year when they should be saving their money instead?
