Lies, damn lies, and more "hits" coming in....

In this item, your humble correspondent went on and on about the lies being promulgated in this election season.

That isn't good for anybody or anything. It's one thing to be uninformed, it's quite another to be misinformed, and intentionally so.

Sometimes you can't tell you're being misinformed, because the clear details of the subject aren't available to you. A perfect example is the current congressional action on health care reform. We're now up to a four, count 'em 4 ream version of a bill, just a shade under 2000 pages in length.

When a talking head comes on screen to wax on the subject, the likelihood that you can and will compare what the head says vis-a-vis the actual bill approaches zero in the limit.

On the other hand, claims about Question 4 on the ballot are much easier to assess. And you even have me to help you do so.

A mailer arrived today from "Citizens United For Maine's Future," the shamelessly misnamed opposition group for Question 4, which as it turns out, operates from the Maine Municipal Association building in Augusta. There's a pretty picture - the MMA - a wholly owned subsidiary and lobbying arm of municipal governments in Maine, and funded by taxpayer funds, is the HQ for the opposition to TABOR II. I know that makes me feel better, and adds so much credibility to their stance.

The mailer says TABOR II will force "severe cuts to education, health care, and other services." This is a bald faced lie, and the folks at CUFMF know it, but they don't care. Personally, I find this outrageous and infuriating. And it only adds to the public perception that entrenched government beneficiaries will sacrifice anything to maintain their place at the trough.

I personally invite anyone who reads this, from the MMA, the CUFMF (the same thing, I guess), or elsewhere to substantiate that TABOR II involves cutting anything. Space will be freely granted on this blog.

Then it makes this claim: "It will require expensive elections for even minor tax and spending."

Apparently the folks at MMA/CUFMF are suffering from GDD, or Grammar Deficit Disorder, not to mention a failure to proof-read their own materials.

We should be collectively ashamed as an electorate that our lack of interest and vigilance over matters of governance has allowed this sort of hack propaganda effort to pass for campaigning in this day and age.

And we get what we deserve because of it.