LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE

The phony assault on a young (and undoubtedly disturbed) McCain campaign worker generated lots of conversation on Propeller over the last week. Indeed, "McCain Campaign Worker Admits To Making Up Attack Story" got more props than any other story: 151. For vor, an Obama victory on Tuesday would be a deliverance of almost Biblical proportions: "If it does [happen], I will kneel down and kiss the ground and know we finally have America back." Replied Harbeas: "I think it will be a sad day if either one wins. Neither one has a clue how to solve our problems." Returning to the topic at hand, Simplicitas added: "When Todd said that she did not remember how the cut in the shape of a backwards B got onto her face and that she may have done it herself, it immediately made me think that she may suffer from a mental illness." Said jordan11: "That silly young woman has just trashed her credibility for the rest of her life, because that false police report will follow her around the rest of her life." Relied not2needy: "Hey, she probably thinks that gives her celebrity status.... Never know how those nutcases think." The initial report of the bogus incident (with the first word subsequently added to the post), "FAKED: McCain Volunteer Attacked, Letter Scratched Into Her Face," rang up 88 props and 545 comments. As a repository of gullibility and vitriol, the comment thread makes for depressing reading indeed. So I'll leave the last word on that to DeadXXXManXXXTalkin: "Guilt by association is so lame. I understand desperate times call for desperate measures, but have a little dignity, please."

CALLING UNCLE KARL

Meanwhile, another lively discussion revolved around Obama's status as a wild-eyed Marxist. "Three reasons to be appalled by the Obama tape, each more disgusting than the last," a story about the candidate's 2001 interview on WBEZ radio in Chicago, generated 76 props and 399 comments. To read the thread, one might conclude that Propeller itself has become infested with fifth columnists. "There are a lot of socialists on here who pretend to be Democrat liberals," said Klarissa. "They have infiltrated the Democrat party." Replied alakazam: "There are a lot of fascists here who pretend to be Republican conservatives. They have infiltrated the Republican Party." But jaern did put a novel twist on the finger-pointing round-robin: "There are a lot of socialists hiding within the Republican party. GWB is a wolf is sheep's clothing. Why else would he ask the government to bail out Wall St?" Meanwhile, ETproductions listened to the actual WBEZ tape, and offered this summary: "What Obama was saying is that he thinks the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s made a mistake by relying too much on court action while ignoring community organizing to help the poor minorities learn how to pull themselves up by their bootstraps--to be self-sufficient instead of relying on government. That is the kind of redistribution he was talking about, and I fully agree with him." Yet one member, liquidkaos, was still wary of the candidate's twitching, redistributive fingers: "If Obama's agenda is to redistribute wealth, he is making a grave mistake."

AND DON'T OVERLOOK....

Which story was most widely read over the last week? That would be "99 And Looking For Love. Is It Too Late?," with 82,547 page views. "Power to her!" said lauravail1, referring to a 99-year-old Australian woman who has so far managed to avoid any hint of erotic entanglement. Replied mdual: "Power to her? This woman is nuts. Why would anyone be 'proud' of this? She had missed out on a wonderful dimension in her very long life." Not so, said tcowgar1: "Sex is overrated." Another biggie on the basis of pure eyeballs was "Black and white TV generation have monochrome dreams," with 5 props, 23 comments, and 30,768 page views. (The scattered comments were, well, skeptical, including this one from Hidalgo: "I watched the radio as a child, but my dreams are in color. What does that mean?") Elsewhere, Propeller members sounded off about Ted Stevens, eBay, and gay rights. And finally, there was "Romanian man puts wife up for sale," with 41 props and 12 comments. This novel approach to marital discord got mixed reviews from the community. Said StevieGee: "Getting six grand for a wife you don't want?.... Priceless!" Added bonaroo: "Do these pants make my boot look big?" But FairNBalanced wasn't laughing: "Men are fleeing from their responsibility and men are making jokes and posting comedic stories about other men's failures." Meanwhile, decibelintent had a more pragmatic solution: "He could have just filed for a divorce." Couples with intractable problems shouldn't, in fact, take the so-called Romanian route. Let them study the video below (which was actually attached to the black-and-white dreaming story) for Venus-and-Mars communication tips. (PS: Don't forget to vote, folks!)