The Daily Show Breaks News on Palin

While I have generally been disappointed in the Daily Show's coverage of the conventions this year, the following clip, which includes Karl Rove, Bill O'Reilly, and even Sarah Palin saying words they should have to eat, is definitely up to their old standards.

More on Palin Watch--Hypocrites

This is truly an historic day. I finally found a Cal Thomas statement that I can agree with. In a column about the media unfair treatment of Sarah Palin, his opening line is "We are such hypocrites." He can just stop there and he will have for once spoken the truth. But no he has to go on and castigate the media for piling on the Palin family because of Bristol's pregnancy. Doesn't he realize that the only reason the media is piling on is because Sarah Palin represents herself as part of that group of Christians who have been piling on other people for years who crossed the line of their loudly proclaimed family values. But somehow, when the plank is in her eye, we are not supposed to notice it. I want to thank one of my conservative friends for making me aware of Cal's column.

I am truly sorry that Bristol Palin's sex life has become a topic of conversation for the whole world. I know she didn't ask for that. But the one person responsible for it is her mother, the righteous Sarah Palin. Supposedly she knew her daughter was pregnant when she accepted the nomination and surely she is not so politically naive as to think that it would be kept secret. Should candidates' families be off-limits, absolutely. Will they be if there is any hint of scandal? Absolutely not. Why was Chelsea Clinton constantly bombarded with questions about her father's sexual practices? No child should be subjected to that, but it was a sure fire way to get ratings and sell papers. And if you don't think the horde of news people are in it for the money just ask Rupert Murdoch.

If you want to read the Thomas column here is the link, just remember if you want the truth just read the first line.

http://townhall.com/Columnists/CalThomas/2008/09/04/what_standards

Palin--Energy Expert?

I'm not sure how or why but anti-Palin blogs, articles, messages, etc. keep jumping off the screen at me. I tried changing computers and logins but nothing seems to help. I thought I knew away to escape when I turned off the computer and got in my car, turned on the radio and hoped for some relief from the onslaught of antisarianism, but right there on my car radio was my republiclone representative, Tom Cole, praising Sarah Palin saying that because she's governor of a state with 20% of the nations energy reserves she knows more about energy than anyone else in the race, including McCain. The problem with this kind of thinking is that it perpetuates the very problem some of us are trying to solve, dependence on oil, whether domestic or foreign. To her credit, she did help get some tough energy legislation passed. But then she used the proceeds to buy her 80% approval rating by distributing money to all of the citizens of Alaska. She may know something about the oil business, (oh wait, that is her family business isn't it? Haven't we had enough oil men or women in the white house to last us for a long, long time?) As I was saying, just knowing something about the oil business does not make you an energy expert.

Of course, my biggest complaint about her is not her lack of experience but her heavy handed way of dealing with anyone who opposes her. The firing of the chief public safety officer is only the latest in a string of power grabs. I am not really concerned about all the other people she has fired through the years but when she starts picking on librarians she is in big trouble. How much more evidence of her megalomania do you need, than to read that when she took over as mayor of Wasilla, she asked all of the department heads, including the town librarian, to resign as a show of support for her administration. She had to back down from the librarian but some of the others were more than willing to say goodbye. I guess they were like Daniel. We have just had 8 years of imperial presidency and don't need any more. I don't care how well she does in her speech tonight, and she ought to to well since her only job outside of being a politician seems to have been as a part time sports journalist and everyone knows how eloquent sports reporters are. Just ask them.

So far the best of the blog articles on Sarah Palin that I've seen is Sarah Palin: Dick Cheney in a Dress by Reality Catcher. I do think he takes a cheap shot at the end but the rest of the article is very good.

Reality Catcher: Sarah Palin: Dick Cheney In A Dress

Sarah Palin, Too Little Too Late

Since I've already discussed her absolute lack of qualifications to be vice president of the United States, (except of course for her membership in the PTA as noted elsewhere) I won't comment much more about the Too Little part of this article. What is really tragic is that she will be Too Late. Too Late for the Bush whitehouse where she would have fit right in. The more I read about the Wootengate fiasco the scarier it gets. There are a multitude of articles available about this, but the one with the most cogent arguments is from talkingpointsmemo.com

Getting Real About Palin

The final paragraph of the article sums up the problem for us:

We rely on elected officials not to use the power of their office to pursue personal agendas or vendettas. It's called an abuse of power. There is ample evidence that Palin used her power as governor to get her ex-brother-in-law fired. When his boss refused to fire him, she fired his boss. She first denied Monegan's claims of pressure to fire Wooten and then had to amend her story when evidence proved otherwise. The available evidence now suggests that she 1) tried to have an ex-relative fired from his job for personal reasons, something that was clearly inappropriate, and perhaps illegal, though possibly understandable in human terms, 2) fired a state official for not himself acting inappropriately by firing the relative, 3) lied to the public about what happened and 4) continues to lie about what happened.

These are, to put it mildly, not the traits or temperament you want in someone who could hold the executive power of the federal government.

Look again at that opening sentence: "We rely on elected officials not to use the power of their office to pursue personal agendas or vendettas. " Like I said, she would have fit right in with the Bush/Chaney/Rove/Libby/ etc. ad nauseum gang.

So Who's the Celebrity?

I think it is very appropriate that the first interview with the republican ticket was given to People magazine. I love the picture of the two wannabe first families right next to the following headlines.

• Ryan Cabrera: Ashlee Will Be a 'Great Mom'
• Johnny Depp Rocks Out for a Good Cause
• Friends Remember Dr. Dre's Son
• Amy Winehouse Cancels Paris Performance
• David Duchovny Has Addressed Rumors of Sex Addiction

Do you think McCain is trying to convince us that in spite his millions and his so-many-he-can't-remember-them-all houses, he is really just one of the folks? Don't underestimate the power of the mob. Remember that GWB won because he pulled off the guy-you-would-like-to-have-a-beer-with image.

In my previous post on this subject I did neglect to give SP credit for her leadership experience as the point guard on the Wasilla Warriors basketball team. Don't get me wrong. I'm a great fan of women's basketball. Some of my very favorite people play the game, but somehow I never saw it as preparation for the White House.

McCain Throws the Election

I knew McCain and his ilk were desparate, but this is absolutely crazy. His most effective criticism of Barak Obama has been his lack of experience and now, if he wins, a 72 year old heartbeat away from the most powerful office in the world will be a person whose primary experience is being mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, a town of about 8400 people. She has no experience, she has no credentials, she has no credibility, she has nothing to justify her as a candidate for Vice President of the United States except that the McCain people hope that some of the dissaffected Hilary supporters will vote for her just because she is female. Oh yes, she was Miss Wasilla of 1984.

If you take a look at the City of Wasilla webpage for today (http://www.cityofwasilla.com/) these are the two lead stories:

Former Wasilla Mayor Picked for Vice Presidential Run
CNN and Fox News are reporting Senator John McCain has picked Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate on the GOP ticket for the White House! More...

Baby & Me Lap-Sit Program at the Library
Baby & Me Lap-Sit is a new one-on-one program for an adult and baby (ages 4-18 months). The program will be held of Fridays at 10:30 am at Wasilla Public Library. Registration is required.

As a former public librarian, I fully recognize the value of the Lap-Sit programs. In fact I have conducted some myself and they are quite a learning experience. And I don't mean for the babies. But I can conceive of no situation where any of the mayors of my town, which is bigger that Wasilla, would ever be considered as candidates for the vice-presidency.

Here is the bio of the current mayor of Wasilla. Peruse it at your leisure to discover the political nuances that would prepare here to be next in line for the most powerful job on the planet.

Mayor Dianne M. Keller was twice elected to the Wasilla City Council, Seat B.
She was previously appointed to serve a one-year term from 1996-1997, and was
elected to serve a full term from 1997-2000. Her Council term ended in October
2002 when she ran for and became the Mayor of Wasilla. Dianne was re-elected as
Mayor in 2005 and will serve until 2008.
The Mayor is an active
member of our community. She has been a member of the AML Legislative Committee
from 1996 to 2004, and the Alaska Conference of Mayors from 2002 to present.
Mayor Keller also chairs the Mat-Su American Red Cross leadership committee and
formerly was a Board Member for the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce in
2005.
In addition, she is a member of the Alaska Resource Development
Council, Mat-Su Resouce Development Council, Alaska State Chamber of Commerce,
Alaska Miners Association, the Mat-Su Youth Court, a member of the Alaska Moose
Federation, and Chair for the Statewide Moose Safety & Rebuilding Task
Force.
The Mayor was appointed to serve the State residents on the State
Emergency Response Commission (SERC). She is also an active supporter of the Boy
Scouts of America and donates regularly to the Blood Bank of Alaska.
Mayor
Keller was born and raised in Anchorage and has lived in the
Matanuska-Susitna valley since 1983. She and her husband Dave have lived in
the city since 1992 and their son Seth was born in Wasilla in 1994.

After Obama's acceptance speech which should have removed all doubts about his ability to lead and after the Bill & Hilary shows of the previous nights in support of Barak Obama removed all doubts about who they are supporting the repubs really needed to pull out their big guns to counter the momentum of Obama's campaign had coming out of the election. So the first thing they do is time the release of McCain's running for the day after the convention to take away some of the headlines and talking head time. That's pretty transparent but all's fair in presidential politics. But this is absolutely ludicrous. I'm sure Mrs. Palin is a very fine woman, but she has no business being nominated or agreeing to this nomination. The Bush/McCain team continues to make a mockery of the American political system. McCain likes to be known as a maverick, but this is just plain old ordinary stupidity.

Having Your Cake and Eating It Too

The Bush so-called "Justice Department" is getting to have things both ways. First they violate the rules then they claim that resolving that problem would violate the rules. First one attorney general, who should never have been approved, gets his hirlings to fill all the available US attorney slots with card-carrying conservatives in clear violation of civil service laws. Then the next attorney general covers for him, first acknowledging that people were hired in violation of the law but refusing to remove them because they did nothing wrong and in his words, "Two wrongs do not make a right. People who were hired in an improper way didn't themselves do anything wrong."

That is the kind of convoluted thinking we have come to expect from bush appointees, but one always hopes that one of these days we will get an attorney general who believes justice is more than just the name of his department. Thank goodness we only have to suffer through this for another 160 days.

This will probably just become another bullet point in all of those coming lectures about why George Bush will go down in history as one of America's worst presidents. And for some reason there are still fools out there supporting him. How can they do that, are they blind, stupid, or just plain evil. I don't see any alternatives.

You're a liberal something, but your not a Christian.

Just in case you were wondering whether or not you can be liberal and Christian, the all-knowing Rick Santorum has given us the last word. Referring to Barack Obama, the ousted, but out-spoken former senator from Pennsylvania said,

You're a liberal something, but your not a Christian.

The comment is reported in a post on a beliefnet blog, Santorum: Obama's Faith Is "Phony"
Blogger Steven Waldman, editor-in-chief of beliefnet, says, "Santorum, known for overtly connecting his fath to his politics, said the Democrats' current efforts to be more faith-friendly are "a charade... I dont think it's sincere at all." Obama's efforts to talk about the importance of faith in his life is "phoney--absolutely disingenuous. I think he's a complete phoney. . . (At the end of the attack, he added that of course it would be inappropriate for him to judge the authenticity of Obama's faith, as only God could do that.)"

Santorum went on to question whether liberal christianity was really, well, Christian. "You're a liberal something, but your not a Christian." He continued, "When you take a salvation story and turn it into a liberation story you've abandoned Christiandom and I don't think you have a right to claim it."

I wonder if Santorum ever heard about "the truth will liberate (my translation) you. Of course, this is not terribly significant but is reflective of the kind of rhetoric that continual pours out of the mouths of the righteous right.

Someone finally gets it right--Iraq invasion was f*cking stupid

Someone with Whitehouse connections has finally gotten it right about the war in Iraq.

Iraq invasion was f*cking stupid!

David Kilcullen, a counter-terrorism expert from Australia, who is now an adviser to Condoleezza Rice, called the decision to invade Iraq "stupid" -- in fact, he said "f*cking stupid." He goes on to say, "The biggest stupid idea was to invade Iraq in the first place."

Kilcullen's comments are printed by The Washington Independent from a draft copy of A Counterinsurgency Guide for Politicos-Eighth in a Series: The Rise of the Counterinsurgents. This manual is be prepared to help those involved in policy making to have the same kind of understanding that the military does. It is intended for "Cabinet-level" officials and their staffs.

Among the novel concepts included in the manual are:

• negotiations are a two-way street in counterinsurgency


• integrate civilian and military agencies into a concerted strategy


• intervening to support an oppressive, authoritarian or abusive government against an insurgency is extremely problematic


• it is folly to intervene . . . unless there is a reasonable likelihood that the affected government will cooperate


• and a really novel idea (at least for the Bush Whitehouse) RESPECT PEOPLE

Since this is draft, one must wonder how much of this will make it into the published version. I seriously doubt that the "f*ucking stupid" comment will survive. Of course many of us started saying this (without the colorful metaphor) before the war and have been saying it continuously for years. Of course, I do not have the slightest doubt that it will be ignored by those who make the decisions.

Crimes Against Nature?

This is a little out of the ordinary for me to address a story like this one, but it raised a red flag. NewsOK.com carried a news story entitled Dog sex tapes lead to Tulsa arrest, charges which tells of a women in Tulsa who was arrested for "crimes against nature" which included beastiality. Specifically she and a friend were charged with performing various sex acts with dogs. Let me state emphatically, that I in no way condone this kind of behavior. My question is,

Why is it against the law?

Why are there even statutes on the books that address this kind of
behavior? Is it repugnant? Yes. Is it disgusting? Yes. Is it
stupid? Yes. Is it unsanitary? Most likely. But is it criminal? I
don't think it should be. But obviously it is in Tulsa. I wonder how
many other cities or states have laws covering "crimes against nature."
Apart from global warming and pollution, how do you commit a crime against
nature?

I was especially disturbed that the Tulsa DA's office was recommending that the dogs be "taken away from the suspects and be put down." They want to kill the dogs because the stupid people had sex with them. What possible reason can they have for doing that? This case has ACLU, SPCA and PETA written all over it.