You just can’t make this stuff up:

An independent investigator has found evidence that Gov. Sarah Palin may have violated ethics laws by accepting private donations to pay her legal debts, in the latest legal distraction for the former vice presidential candidate as she prepares to leave office this week.

So now if Sarah Palin allows other people to help her pay to defend herself against a barrage of frivolous, politically motivated “ethics” complaints, that too is a violation of ethics? Ridiculous.

Thomas Daniel, the genius lawyer who found that this arrangement violated some Bizarro World standard of “ethics” explained:

An ordinary citizen facing legal charges is not likely to be able to generate donations to a legal defense fund, he wrote. “In contrast, Governor Palin is able to generate donations because of the fact that she is a public official and a public figure. Were it not for the fact that she is governor and a national political figure, it is unlikely that many citizens would donate money to her legal defense fund.”

But the answer to this nonsense is so obvious, even a lawyer ought to be able to figure it out. An ordinary citizen wouldn’t be facing the ethics complaints Palin is facing. Were it not for the fact she is a governor and a national political figure, she wouldn’t have all the legal bills, Einstein.

“The report recommends that Palin refuse to accept payment from the defense fund…” She should — until next week, when she’s no longer the governor of Alaska.

Update: A response from Palin and a link to the report from Hot Air.

Another day, another instance of President Obama saying a bunch of words that ignore reality.

From the Associated Press today:

Obama says without action, health costs will rise

….

During a political fundraiser and separate campaign rally for New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, the president said the costs of health care will continue to increase unless Congress delivers legislation that would dramatically change the way Americans receive health care. He said he will not accept the current system and his critics misunderstand the challenges that face the country.

And from the Associated Press today:

Budget umpire: Health care bills would raise costs

Democrats’ health care bills won’t meet President Barack Obama’s goal of slowing the ruinous rise of medical costs, Congress’ budget umpire warned on Thursday, giving weight to critics who say the legislation could break the bank.

The sobering assessment from Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf came as House Democrats pushed to pass a partisan bill through committees, while in the Senate a small group of lawmakers continued to seek a deal that could win support from both political parties.

….

Explained Elmendorf: “In the legislation that has been reported, we do not see the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the trajectory of federal health spending by a significant amount. And on the contrary, the legislation significantly expands the federal responsibility for health care costs.”

Via The Corner at NRO, here’s a press release from the leftist propaganda outfit Media Matters for America:

Greetings,

I wanted to make sure you had seen Media Matters’ latest research on five major newspapers reporting on Sen. Jeff Sessions’ opening statement at the confirmation hearing of Judge Sonia Sotomayor without noting that in 1986, Sessions’ nomination as a U.S. district court judge was rejected following allegations that Sessions had a history of making racially charged comments.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or if you would like additional information.

Jessica Levin
Press Secretary
Media Matters for America

Judge Sotomayor has a history of making racially charged comments which is much clearer than the allegations made by opponents of Sessions’ nomination at his Senate hearing in 1986. So is Media Matters calling for the Senate to reject Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court on that basis? Or are they simply attempting to smear any opponents of her nomination? Of course this is a rhetorical question.

The same question could be asked of senators who voted against Sessions, but plan to vote for Sotomayor.

Yet again, President Obama shows that he’ll say anything, with no regard to truth or reality. Everything is just campaign-style rhetoric. In the latest example, the president claims the $787 Billion “stimulus” bill is actually working as promised:

President Barack Obama said his $787 billion stimulus bill “has worked as intended” as he pushed back against Republican criticism that his recovery program has failed to rescue the economy.

“It has already extended unemployment insurance and health insurance to those who have lost their jobs in this recession,” Obama, who is traveling today in Ghana, said in his weekly Saturday radio and Web address. “It has delivered $43 billion in tax relief to American working families and business.”

Obama spoke after stocks fell for a fourth week on concern that an economic recovery will be delayed. A government report last week showed that employers cut 467,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate rose to 9.5 percent, the highest since 1983.

So apparently the real intent of the bill was simply to dole out billions of dollars to favored constituencies, regardless of any economic effect. And anybody who thought the purpose was to lower the unemployment rate and improve the economic growth rate just wasn’t paying attention. The obvious problem, of course, is this is not how the bill was sold back in February. The manure is getting piled really deep out there, and we’re only 6 months in. It’s going to be a long 4 years. God help us.

Update: The GOP has released a good video highlighting the President’s double-talk on the “stimulus.”