THE GRAPEVINE - PART I

Have YOU heard?

OK - I did it again. It's me, the SOS/BlogManager/Editor/Grunt/Media Czarina. I hijacked the blog. It's probably OK, though. The Prez has resumed the fetal position - watching Glenn Beck the last several days has put her over the edge again. Seriously, are people paying attention to the great "connect the people" game Beck is playing? But I digress - as I've been reading the paper lately and been doing my research, I've noticed something. There's a lot going on that's not getting a lot of press OR there are things going on that are getting press for the wrong reasons. So, pardon the length, but here we go:





Unemployment – July 2009 – 9.7% Didn’t Obama say that if the stimulus bill was passed that they could hold unemployment to 8%, but if it didn’t pass it would rise to 9%? That’s what I thought…

Cash for clunkers – They are touting the program as hugely successful. Let’s see, a program put in place that originally was supposed to have lasted until November 1st. But, wait, more people took advantage of it than they thought and there isn’t enough money to keep the program going. Now, the dealers are hoping and praying they’ll get their money from the Government. Oh, and the big benefactors of the program? Why the Japanese automakers – Toyota, Honda and Nissan accounted for 41 percent of the new vehicle sales! Here’s the top ten list of vehicles purchased:
1. Toyota Corolla
2. Honda Civic
3. Toyota Camry
4. Ford Focus FWD
5. Hyundai Elantra
6. Nissan Versa
7. Toyota Prius
8. Honda Accord
9. Honda Fit
10. Ford Escape FWD

Eric Holder investigating Bush, et al, with regard to interrogation technique – Can you say smoke screen? Too much bad Obama stuff goin’ down – need to start playing the broken Bush record again!



Health Care – Joke. Need I say more? Oh, OK, one more thing. Can you imagine the Government running all of your health care programs? Could it go something like what happened at the Veterans Affairs Department where mass letters were sent out to vets about disability claims indicating they had Lou Gehrig’s disease and one woman put herself through a battery of painful, expensive tests only to be told 5 days later by the VA its “diagnosis was a mistake?”



Afghanistan – More troops going in. Where’s Cindy Sheehan and her faithful Democratic followers? OK, I’ll give you that she’s ticked at Obama – but at least she’s consistent!! Where’s the rest of the loudmouths (read as Democratic radicals) who encouraged, supported and held her in high regard when she was camped outside a Crawford, Texas, ranch? No body is saying diddley squat about it, are they?


Gitmo – heard about that lately? It’s still open last time I looked. Wasn’t that getting shut down immediately?


Homeowners Assistance – Remember the big, prime-time show where Obama called out the 1-800 number so homeowners could find help with their mortgates? Yeah, that was REALLY helpful to lawyers, mortgage companies, etc. out to scam a buck. Many reported unsolicited calls after calling the “Obama Help Me” line that said help was on the way, just send in $1,200 for us to begin the process! There is an actual case in Arizona of a man who went through all the redtape only to be told in the end his payment was being raised! No kidding, check out the Arizona Republic on August 26, 2009.



Stimulus money? Hmmm…let’s see how THAT’s working:
"The Social Security Administration mistakenly sent stimulus checks worth a total of $425,000 to 1,700 prison inmates. Official records “did not accurately reflect that they were in prison,” an SSA spokesman told Fox News. Inmates typically aren’t eligible for Social Security benefits, but, in a twist, some of the inmates—those who weren’t incarcerated between November 2008 and January 2009—did in fact get the $250 checks “fair and square,” according to Fox News."


Or how about a checkpoint in Laredo, TX, that gets more than 55,000 travelers a day that was passed over for stimulus money, while a checkpoint in Westhope, ND, that sees just 73 people a day is getting almost $15 million for renovations? Nope, no politics in the stimulus bill, is there?





OK, I'm done. It's just that you never see this crap headlined. With the exception of the flights back to Mexico (because that's SOOOOO humanitarian) and Eric Holder (for obvious reasons), none of this has been big, bold, headline stuff. It's all tucked away in small snippets, hoping it doesn't get notice!! Sorry about circumventing the Prez - but I had to get that off my chest. She'll come around in a day or so and then I'll get the what for!!