Smiling Mask

Blueskygirl has a story to tell about Ann Marie Buerkle's abilities at deception. It is a second hand story, yet it is perfectly believable to Blueskygirl because it was told to her by a good friend and neighbor whom she trusts. She feels that her friend would have no reason to tell anything but the truth about the incident she is going to describe. It was a powerful moment for Blueskygirl's friend, and one he will never forget.

Many years ago Blueskygirl's friend worked in the human services field as an advocate for people with certain disabilities. This friend had occasion to know Ann Marie Buerkle through his capacity as a leader in his agency and field. 

Buerkle was in a position to oppose the services Blueskygirl's friend was trying to develop, and she used her power at the time to try to undermine his work and turn the public and the funders against his project. She did this by misrepresenting the nature of the disabilities and the nature of the services.   

Blueskygirl's friend had an opportunity to confront Buerkle about her outspoken opposition. He tried to have a discussion with her about the need for the services. He tried using facts. He tried to appeal to her sense of compassion. She would not be swayed.

Finally he said to her, "You are just never going to tell the truth about this, are you? You are going to go on lying, aren't you?"

Buerkle smiled broadly at him and said, "Yes, you are right."  The conversation was over. She walked away, still smiling.

Tea Party Wants to Control Who Runs on Their Line..Is This an Oxymoron?

On May 11, Blueskygirl wrote about the rise and possible win in the vote next Tuesday of Democrat Kathy Hochul in NY 26 Congressional District between Rochester and Buffalo. 

Today the NYTimes published the second article in a week about the race for the 26th, this time particularly about Jack Davis, who is running as a third candidate on a Tea Party line and splitting the vote with Conservative Jane Corwin, giving Hochul a gift from heaven.

Here's the NYTimes article from this morning. Blueskygirl linked to the first NYTimes article on May 11.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/nyregion/jack-davis-makes-tea-party-bid-in-ny-congressional-race.html?_r=1&hp

Davis has created alarm among Republicans and Conservatives, so much so that John Boehner came to the 26th last week on behalf of Corwin. Karl Rove has sent Corwin a bunch of tea-colored money. The Tea Party is calling in ever-classy baseball batman Carl Paladino to denounce Davis.  

Better yet, tea partiers all over NY are up in arms about Davis. They are angry and trying, at the last minute, to organize (not their best skill) resistance to him and support for Corwin. It is a refreshing turn of events,. Blueskygirl is totally enjoying herself.

Blueskygirl doesn't think Davis is deliberately trying to create a win for the Democrat. Still, could intentional Trojan horses become an election tool next time around? Anything could happen, given the tea partiers inate inability to organize. Ah, can relegation "to the dust bin of history" be far off?

The Ann Marie Buerkle FAQ Answer Sheet

Can't get to a town hall meeting? Haven't been able to get in to see your Representative in person? 

Finally there is a time-saving aid for Ann Marie Buerkle's constitutients who have missed hearing her speak in person and want to know what she thinks about important issues.

Here, at last and in one place, is the Ann Marie Buerkle FAQ Answer Sheet. You can now easily locate common answers to all the tough questions. Become familiar with words and phrases that slip easily off her tongue as she tackles your neighbor's hard questions. Here is everything you need to know about Ann Marie's work in Congress and her approach to the many demanding and complicated problems she is being called upon to solve.

Another idea: use the Ann Marie Buerkle FAQ Answer Sheet as a check list if you go to the town hall meeting this Wednesday. How many of these responses can you collect in a single evening?  Good luck!

• we’re losing the American dream

• I must work hard to find the common ground

• real reforms that lower health costs without growing government

• we need to have a discussion

• the key here is not what I think — it’s what the business owners think

• lower taxes, less government spending, and limited government interference are the building blocks for economic growth

• I’d be happy to look into that and set up a meeting

• this isn’t a Democratic or a Republican issue

• we simply must make the tough choices

• put together a roadmap and put all our efforts into achieving these goals

• I'll have my staff look into it

• there’s a legitimate role of government in some places

• I am planning to be around often to listen

• I am looking forward to being back in the district and having the opportunity to listen to my constituents

• we don't have a taxing problem; we have a spending problem

• look at what obstacles the government puts in place for businesses to succeed

• put your faith in the magic of the marketplace

• create certainty and not regulate businesses to death

• we need to find common ground 

• overspending and bloatedness 

• why do we want to punish the rich? They work hard for their money

• the time is upon us where we’ve got to let the market take hold in so many things

• the middle class is not being hurt by the wealthy; they are being hurt by the federal government

• the government has to create an environment where businesses are not regulated and taxed to death

• we have to get this government under control

• I will keep your thoughts and concerns in mind as we move forward

• my position is to find a balance, to protect the environment while not impeding businesses in their success

• job creation and getting the economy on track is the priority of this Congress 

• we need to stop spending money that we don't have in this country

• a victory for big government; an affront to our Constitution

• we’ve got to have a system where we talk about tort reform

• right out of the gate

• I need to thoroughly review the budget

• we need to create certainty for businesses so they can plan

• you just wish there was an easier way to do it

Don't Worry, Be Happy

In Cato at the Town Hall Meeting last month, Ann Marie Buerkle dismissed a couple of serious concerns and the audience never got to ask followup questions.

• Asked about hydrofracking, Buerkle extolled the virtues of natural gas, like how it will solve all our energy problems forever. She explained with great authority that "someone" at ESF,  SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, said that hydrofracking was safe and, anyway, the gas is too deep to be reached economically up here in Central New York. If development goes forward in NY, it will be where the gas is close to the surface down by Elmira and Corning. 

            So long, Elmira and Corning.

• Asked to explain vouchers in Medicare reform, she told us that it wasn't a voucher system. A couple minutes later she called it a voucher system but  said that no one over 55, which was a large percentage of the audience that evening, would not see any change in their Medicare and so not to worry. 

            So long, under-55s.

Buerkle's assumption that everyone in the audience is happy to be self-serving doesn't, fortunately, apply to everyone. Virtually half of the voters back in November, the people who didn't vote for her, are concerned about issues that affect more than just themselves and their own back yards.

Questions for Ann Marie Buerkle at Her Next Town Hall Meeting: Wednesday, May 18 at Pompey Town Hall

Hey, join in the fun and ask Ann Marie questions this coming Wednesday, May 18, 6:00 PM in Pompey!

PLEASE NOTE: The village of Pompey is on Route 20, 6 miles south of the village of Manlius. "Manlius" in the announcement sent out by Buerkle's office is the mailing address for the Pompey Town Hall.

Town Hall Meeting
Start:         May 18, 2011 6:00 pm
End:          May 18, 2011 7:00 pm
Location:   Pompey Town Hall: 8354 U.S. Route 20, Manlius, NY 13104

Here are some questions Blueskygirl is sure Ann Marie will welcome at her town hall as she continues her quest for common ground. She is a strong proponent of finding areas of agreement, and of listening to ALL of her constituents, and so it seems important to let her know just how far toward the center she will have to move if she is truly seeking common ground.

Beneath this list of questions for Ann Marie Buerkle at her next town hall meeting is a list of questions that Blueskygirl originally posted on March 18, 2011. Some of the older questions have become somewhat irrelevant or outdated, at least for now.

Since then, Blueskygirl has continued to build the list.

Now, the current questions, please:

• What do you know about the loss of $1,000,000 for Syracuse in the Community Block Grant program that the House Republicans cut from the budget this year? 

• Who is your choice at this time for Republican candidate for president? and why?

• Do you intend to collect your monthly Social Security when you retire?

• What is your current connection (today) with Operation Rescue?

• Do you like the health insurance our government provides for you during your time in Congress?

• What do you think is the cause of the massive retreat of glaciers all over the world?

• Unions? yea or nay? Did you ever belong to a union?

• Were African Americans active in your campaign? What are you initiating to bring people of color into your tent? Why do you think there are few (or no) African Americans here at this town hall meeting?

• Where do you stand on gun control?

• What is your postion on nuclear power?

• What is your position on hydrofracking? Why do you think the City of Syracuse and the City of New York water authorities successfully insisted that their drinking watersheds be permanently excluded as possible hydrofracking sites?

• Do you know who Paul Singer is? Elliott Associates? Elliott Management?

• What is the Frederick Douglas Foundation?

• Do you like to listen to Public Radio?

• Can you please say a few words about the importance of the separation of church and state, an important judicial and constitutional concept?

• Why don't you just resign, since you are not doing any good for the district?

from Blueskygirl's March 18 post: 


Questions for Ann Marie Buerkle's Next Town Hall Meeting, and the One After That...

Ms. Buerkle, you promised us honesty and transparency during your campaign. You promised that you would try to find common ground. The election results indicate that you won by only a very small margin, so it is safe to assume that there are a great many people who would like to know you share their concerns about where this country is headed. 

Now that you have gotten your feet wet in Washington, would you be so kind as to answer some questions for us?

• You talked repeatedly about job creation and job recovery during your campaign. Since the election you do not talk about jobs. Why?  

• What are your plans, and your party's plans, for job recovery?

• Since you personally benefitted during your campaign from NPR public radio and PBS television, how can you now vote to defund public broadcasting? 

• Do you personally listen to or watch public broadcasting?

• What are you doing to keep several hundred jobs in NYS which are part of the 1200 jobs in the Northeast that National Grid is eliminating? Or do you support eliminating those jobs? Do you know why they are being eliminated?

• Do you subscribe to the idea that President Obama is not an American-born citizen? Do you need to see his birth certificate before you believe he was born on US soil?

• What do you think about what is happening in Wisconsin?
• Knowing what you do, from your multi-faceted career and volunteer experience, 

• about the needs of people and families without health insurance; 
• about people who need to be represented by an attorney and lack the funds to afford one; 
• about women (and men) who have experienced domestic abuse; 
• about the importance of family planning and reproductive health,                      

             then how do you justify cutting funds to or eliminating programs that help the neediest among us?

• What is your position on nuclear power?

• How do you respond to the idea of the threat that the nuclear power plants near Oswego and Rochester pose either by terrorists or by natural disaster?  We think about how relatively easy it might be for a terrorist group, domestic or foreign, to crash a plane into a plant or for employees and contractors to infiltrate a plant over time. Do you think continuing generation of electricity using nuclear power is sustainable given the enormous costs in treasure, safety and security?

• Why did you accept a large collective contribution from Paul Singer and several of his employees at Elliott Associates and Elliott Management, both powerful hedge funds? Do you know that Paul Singer is a modern-day robber baron who crushes whole countries for profit?

• Do you understand the importance of the separation of church and state in a democracy? Would you be willing to describe and discuss its importance so that we are all clear about this judicial and Constitutional concept?

Working Families Party Supports Kathy Hochul's Close House Race in NY District 26 and Update

The race for the NY 26th Congressional District seat in the House of Representatives, twelve days away, is close and the Democratic candidate has a chance of winning.

Kathy Hochul is the Democratic candidate. She is the county clerk for Erie County and is well liked. She has a serious chance of winning the race against conservative Jane Corwin and Democrat-turned-Tea Partier Jack Davis. Davis is splitting the Republican vote, giving Hochul a real chance.

From the Working Families Party website earlier this week:

"... [T]he other [Republican] side also knows it's close. Yesterday, Speaker John Boehner flew in from Washington and just moments ago we learned that Karl Rove has directed $650,000 into the district for the Republican [candidate]." 

Just as Ann Marie Buerkle got an infusion of BIG money in the final days of the election in November, the 26th Congressional District is attracting national right-wing attention now.

Here's a summary of the race from the New York Times on May 9:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/10/nyregion/boehner-visits-ny-to-bolster-flagging-house-candidate.html

Take a look. Give a bit of money via the Working Families Party if you can. It could be an important victory for Democrats.

To donate to this race on the side of Kathy Hochul, go to the Working Families Party page set up for that purpose:

https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/1306/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=4903

Working Families', always supporters of progressive candidates, main page is here:

http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/

Update: 
The US House R. clowns from NY, including Buerkle, aren't lifting a finger to help Corwin.
Thanks to Roll Call Politics                                                                                                                        By Steve Peoples

• Roll Call Staff
• May 14, 2011, 12:24 p.m.:

              Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle, whose 25th district is adjacent to Corwin's, does not appear to have done anything to help Corwin at this point.  
          "There's been some conversation and she's seeing what her schedule will allow," Buerkle spokeswoman Liza Lowery said Friday, noting that Buerkle, like most of the delegation, will be in New York this week during recess. "She would like to do something, but as you can imagine, there's a lot already scheduled for the Congressional district work week."

Just too busy (sigh).

Ann Marie Buerkle, You Must Read: War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges

 "The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, 

for war is a drug." 

The movie Jarhead opens with this line from War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning.


Chris Hedges has been reporting on wars for almost 30 years, first in El Salvador and other war torn countries in Central America during the nineteen eighties. He reported from Sarajevo and Kosovo. For the past two decades he has been reporting on conflicts all over the Middle East and Africa.

He graduated from Colgate University and Harvard DIvinity School. He studied Arabic. He worked with combat soldiers as he wrote War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning. He has been awarded prizes for his journalism and writing, and for his humanitarian concerns.

I have heard him speak. Never have I heard a more clear voice of conscience, reason and the realities of war in the 21st century.

His biography from Truthdig:

Chris Hedges Chris Hedges, whose column is published Mondays on Truthdig, spent nearly two decades as a foreign correspondent in Central America, the Middle East, Africa and the Balkans. He has reported from more than 50 countries and has worked for The Christian Science Monitor, National Public Radio, The Dallas Morning News and The New York Times, for which he was a foreign correspondent for 15 years. Hedges was part of the team of reporters at The New York Times awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for the paper’s coverage of global terrorism. He also received the Amnesty International Global Award for Human Rights Journalism in 2002. The Los Angeles Press Club honored Hedges’ original columns in Truthdig by naming the author the Online Journalist of the Year in 2009, and granted him the Best Online Column award in 2010 for his Truthdig essay “One Day We’ll All Be Terrorists.” Hedges is a senior fellow at The Nation Institute in New York City and has taught at Columbia University, New York University and Princeton University. He currently teaches inmates at a correctional facility in New Jersey. Hedges began his career reporting the war in El Salvador. Following six years in Latin America, he took time off to study Arabic and then went to Jerusalem and later Cairo. He spent seven years in the Middle East, most of them as the bureau chief there for The New York Times. He left the Middle East in 1995 for Sarajevo to cover the war in Bosnia and later reported the war in Kosovo. Afterward, he joined the Times’ investigative team and was based in Paris to cover al-Qaida. He left the Times after being issued a formal reprimand for denouncing the Bush administration’s invasion of Iraq. He has written nine books, including “Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle” (2009), “I Don’t Believe in Atheists” (2008) and the best-selling “American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America” (2008). His book “War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning” (2003) was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction. Hedges holds a B.A. in English literature from Colgate University and a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard University. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, Calif. Hedges speaks Arabic, French and Spanish and knows ancient Greek and Latin. In addition to writing a weekly original column for Truthdig, he has written for Harper’s Magazine, The New Statesman, The New York Review of Books, Adbusters, Granta, Foreign Affairs and other publications.

About the book:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Is_a_Force_That_Gives_Us_Meaning

About Chris Hedges' work (on the Truthdig site):
http://www.truthdig.com/chris_hedges#

Wikipedia biography of Chris Hedges:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Hedges

Cost of Wars: Theft from the 25th Congressional District

Dear Ann Marie Buerkle:

As of a few of minutes ago, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have cost the tax payers of the 25th Congressional District of New York $3,512,378,700. (See sidebar for Cost of War site link.)

In plain English, that is over THREE AND A HALF BILLION DOLLARS stolen from our district since 2001.

That is roughly $53,500 for every person in the district (FIFTY THREE THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS).

If we had that money back here tomorrow...

...how many teachers could we hire?

...how many jobs could we create?

...how many crumbling bridges could we replace?

...how many decent housing units could we build?

...how many people could we offer fuel and electric assistance next winter?

...how many doctors' bills could we pay for care for indigent children?

...how many lives could we save from treatable illnesses?

...how many tax incentives could we offer businesses to locate here? (And no, Bob Congel, I don't mean you.)

...how much research and development could we encourage to get ourselves firmly on the path to true renewable energy independence?

...how many farmers could we pay equitably for the work they do?

...how many nursing homes could finally afford to provide the quality of care their staffs came into the field to give?

...and finally, how long would it take for us as a district and a nation to commit to respecting all our people equally; to strive to help all our people achieve their potential; and to feel proud of our nation as we join the global search for peace .

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, From a speech before the American Society of Newspaper Editors, April 16, 1953

34th president of US 1953-1961 (1890 - 1969)

Ms. Buerkle, please aim high, higher that you ever imagined you could. Find your way beyond unquestioned allegiance. Think for yourself. Abandon the politics game. Follow your heart. Let compassion for your fellow human beings drive your decisions. 

Very truly yours, 

Blueskygirl 

Industrial Conglomerate Tea Party Sponsor Has NO Sense of Humor

Koch Industries can buy and sell the Tea Party and its puppet teabaggers with loose change from the sofa. Good to know they don't always win in court.

Thanks to Huffington Post for this:

Koch Industries Climate Change Spoof No Grounds For Suit, Judge Finds

First Posted: 05/ 9/11 06:55 PM ET Updated: 05/ 9/11 06:55 PM ET

Tom Zeller Jr. 

tom.zeller@huffingtonpost.com

A U.S. district court in Utah effectively shut down an effort by Koch Industries, the Kansas-based industrial conglomerate whose namesake brothers are vocal skeptics of global warming, to unmask a group of anonymous climate activists who spoofed the company in a mock press release last December. [Here is the fake announcement:]

December 10, 2010     Contact: 

Kate Anderson

kate.anderson@koch-inc.com 

281-305-8418

KOCH INDUSTRIES ANNOUNCES NEW ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENTS WICHITA, Kan. – Koch Industries remains committed to environmental responsibility and stewardship, announcing today that it will restructure its support for organizations that undertake climate change research and advocacy. Since its founding, Koch Industries has been focused on achieving environmental excellence and using resources efficiently. Through extensive and award-winning efforts and investments, Koch Industries has implemented innovative practices that reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in the manufacture and distribution of our products. Based on recent internal evaluations of Koch Industries priorities, the company will be restructuring its support of climate change research and advocacy initiatives and will discontinue contributions to groups whose positions on climate change no longer match those of the company’s leadership, beginning in January 2011. Koch Industries is proud of its charitable history, particularly with regard to organizations such as Americans for Prosperity, Fraser Institute, Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment, the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, and the George C. Marshall Institute.  These organizations have done much important work to advance science and policy on the issue of climate change. However, based on a recent internal and thorough company review, Koch Industries has decided that its best course forward includes a discontinuation of funding for these organizations, and organizations like them, whose positions on climate change could jeopardize America’s continued global competitiveness in the energy and chemical sectors and Koch Industries’ ability to provide high-quality products and services to the American people. “Koch Industries is proud of its environmental record, as well as its long history of providing trusted goods and services to its customers,” said CEO Charles Koch.  “Our top priority has always been to create real, long-term value in society through principled behavior. It is the only way a business can survive and prosper.” More complete information is available at www.koch-inc.com. ### Page 1 of 1 The fake statement, posted to a hoax Web site similar to Koch Industries' own, purported to be an awakening of sorts, in which the company admitted the error of its ways on climate change and committed to cease funding of groups seeking to undermine prevailing climate science.

Unamused, Koch sued for a variety of claims, including infringement of trademark, unfair competition and cybersquatting, among others. Koch had also sought to serve subpoenas on the company that hosted the sham website in order to obtain the identities of the activists.

The defendants, represented by the advocacy group Public Citizen, sought to have the subpoenas quashed, the activists' identities protected and the lawsuit -- along with all of its claims -- dismissed.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Dale A. Kimball granted all three requests.

"We're gratified that the court affirmed our clients' First Amendment right to engage in anonymous political speech and rejected Koch's baseless legal theories," said Deepak Gupta, Public Citizen's lead attorney, in an emailed statement. "This lawsuit was nothing but a well-financed attempt by Koch to bully its political opponents into submission. The court was right to stop this lawsuit in its tracks."

In a follow-up phone call, Mr. Gupta said that Koch almost certainly obtained some information on the activists though the subpoenas it served to the hosting company, which complied before Public Citizen became involved in the case. But Koch is now enjoined from disclosing whatever information it had managed to gather.

"We are disappointed by the judge's decision and continue to stand by our earlier statements about this case," said Melissa Cohlmia, a spokeswoman for Koch Industries, in an email message. The company, she added, was reviewing its options.

...yes, there is a god

Tea Party: Today...live stream with Carl Paladino! What an opportunity!

Carl Paladino lives! at least in the minds of certain teabaggers. Never mind that he is a racist, homophobic, hypocritical man who widely forwards hard core pornography including beastiality, thinks poor people should live in prisons and in his "concession speech" threatened to bring a baseball bat to Albany:

          Said Paladino to Andrew Cuomo: "You can grab this handle and bring the people [the bat, metaphorically?] with you to Albany, or you can leave it untouched, and run the risk of having it wielded against you. Because make no mistake. You have not heard the last of Carl Paladino."

He's a gangster. You go, Sheryl Thomas of Orange-Sullivan [NY] Tea Party!

T.E.A. with Carl Paladino Paladino For the People and the Tea Party Movement    (Carl Paladino)    Listen LIVE as Sheryl Thomas, founder of Tea Party Works and former gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino take a more personal look into the 2010 campaign, NYS politics,   and the role of the Tea Party. **Tea Party Works On The Air**    Debut Show @ BlogTalk Radio   Thursday May 5, 2011 MAKE A NOTE OF THE NEW TIME!! 5:30-6:30PM       Call in number to listen: (714) 202-XXXX Hosted by   Tea Party Works Orange-Sullivan Tea Party TeamWatchTM NY  If you have a question for Carl or for more info contact: Sheryl Thomas    sthomas@teapartyworks.com

Ann Marie Buerkle: Potential Anti-War Crusader?

Ann Marie Buerkle is poised to become a strong anti-war leader. Consider the intersecting circumstances: 

• She has great and justified concern about balancing the US budget.  She is concerned that we borrow forty per-cent (40%) of what we spend. Then consider that thirty per-cent (30%) of the budget goes for current military. Another eighteen per-cent (18%) goes to past military.

• With the removal of Osama bin Laden, the US no longer has a reason to be fighting in Afghanistan. Also, the unsteady withdrawal from Iraq needs more push from Congress.

• Buerkle's position on the House Foreign Relations committee puts her in a good position to voice her opposition to war. 

• She has a brilliant background as a crusader. She has an unparalleled single-mindedness for advocating for what she thinks is right.

Blue Sky Girl can think of no one with more potential to become the newest champion of peace.

Go Ann Marie!

Buerkle: 5 Easy Lies

At the American Legion in Cato last night, we were slimed. Ann Marie Buerkle held one of her "town hall" meetings.


It is deceptive to hear Buerkle speak because her favored public front is one of smoothness, friendliness, clarity, competence.


Her claqueurs were there, heavily outnumbering people with tough questions. It felt intimidating.


Her handlers were handing her the softest of softball questions.


Lie #1:  "I will be independent." This became a platform plank early in the campaign as part of her Compact 25. The fact is that she has voted with her party and John Boehner 97% of the time, with the other 3% being missed and procedural votes, proves differently.


Lie #2:  "I will be accountable" is another plank from Compact 25. Yes, she holds town hall meetings. Then she fills them with supporters who ask her softball questions, and a moderator and staff who protect her from the hard ones.


Lie #3:  When questioned last night about her stance against women's health care and abortion she said, "you elected me as a Pro-Life candidate." Actually, she hid her Pro-Life platform during the campaign. When she first declared, she said that abortion was not the issue that would define her nor would it be a priority of her campaign. If you were new to the area, you would never have known about her ignominious history with Operation Rescue.


Lie #4:  "The government is not in the business of supporting energy." That does not match the tax-free business status of BP and other gas and oil companies in the US. It does not match the total green light that the nuclear industry has always had from the government.


Lie #5:  "There is no voucher for Medicaid in Congressman Paul Ryan's budget bill." Last night, five sentences later she said, "let me explain how the vouchers would work."


Blue Sky Girl doesn't think she actually knows what the truth would sound like.