Behold Mike Huckabee:
That makes my brain ache. The only thing worse than the nonsense Huckabee is saying is the knowing, pious hums of affirmation coming from the host (no idea who that guy and his wife are). I am declaring an edict that any Christian who does the eyes closed, head nodding, "mmmhhhmmm" when someone else is talking is subject to immediate excommunication.
When we make the church about politics and politics about the church we should expect to receive mockery. Not the sort of mockery we expect because of the foolishness of the cross (1 Cor 1:18) but rather the sort of well-deserved mockery that this kind of garbage draws. I have no reason to doubt that Mike Huckabee is a brother in Christ. I wish another brother would take him aside and tell him that this sort of stuff is doing nothing to advance the cause of Christ.
As an aside, is this what the Republican party is going into 2016 with? Mike Huckabee. Mitt "Third Time Is the Charm!" "The Human Weather-vane" Romney. Jeb "Also Third Time's The Charm" Bush Version 3.0. Sarah Palin. If that is the plan, to pick from whichever candidate emerges from the GOP clown car as the anointed one to slay the Hillary dragon, they can do so without my support and without my vote (which they aren't getting regardless nor is anyone else). America is 17 trillion in debt and heading full speed over a fiscal cliff that will make pre-World War II Germany look like a model of fiscal discipline and people are serious about Mike Huckabee? I guess he would be a better President than the current President but that is true of just about anyone you picked up off the streets.
Showing posts with label sarah palin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sarah palin. Show all posts
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Monday, April 28, 2014
Sarah Doesn't Speak For Me
The web is all a-blaze over the asinine tirade of former governor and Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. She has turned into a useful tool for the neo-con Right, a well dressed cheerleader who can deliver the applause lines with gusto. Among her recent ranting at the NRA convention in my home state was her bluster about things would be if she were in charge: "Well, if I were in charge, they would know that waterboarding is how we baptize terrorists.". Ugh.
Yeah that is the kind of garbage that helps explain why she is not in charge. When the rest of the country and the world (you know those godless heathens who we are supposed to be loving) sees stuff like this they assume that this is what American style "liberty" and American style "Christianity" are all about.
It is not. Or at least it shouldn't be.
To those around the world and across America who see this foolish, anti-Christian ranting and wonder how we can talk about a Jesus who taught us to love our enemies on Sunday and turn around and torture them with simulated drowning on Monday please hear me as it pertains to Ms. Palin.
She does't speak for me as someone who champions limited government and liberty.
She especially doesn't speak for me as a follower of Christ.
I am not sure what she is peddling but the "love her or leave her" nationalistic civil religion is not in any way, shape or form a faithful representation of Christianity.
Many of those who support Ms. Palin on the Right would call themselves defenders of the Constitution. I wonder what the men who wrote the Constitution would think about the state using torture to extract information from detained prisoners, prisoners who are kept overseas to prevent them from being afforded any sort of legitimate legal representation. I doubt they would approve and modern day defenders of liberty should be equally leery because the same government that can detain and torture Muslim terrorists can detain and torture American citizens who become inconvenient to the state. I am quite sure that many of those held in Guantanamo and other CIA holding facilities around the world are bad guys, the worst of the worst. They certainly would kill me and my family without hesitation. If they are not the exact sort of people we are called to reach and love like Jesus then I don't know who is. I am pretty confident that Jesus didn't intend for his disciples to only take the Gospel to any middle class white suburban family that visits their church on Sunday. He calls us to go out to those who hate us, who will persecute and maybe even kill us, confident that if we are Christians we have nothing to fear from those who kill us. In other words those who Ms. Palin would love to torture, or more precisely have tortured by someone else lest she get her own hands dirty.
I am heartened that many conservative voice are calling her out, from Joe Carter at the Gospel Coalition (who unfortunately cannot get by without a nod to defending "our culture, our future, and our lives" with violence) to Rod Dreher at the American Conservative. Unfortunately many more "conservatives", who probably spent yesterday morning in their Sunday best singing about Jesus, are today taking to the internet to call "trolls" those who raise serious, common sense questions about the wisdom of putting someone like Sarah Palin forth as representative of people who love liberty and/or people who love Jesus. It is an ugly, knee jerk, frothing at the mouth brand of a statist mentality that looks more like the fascist rallies of the early twentieth century than a movement that sees government as the problem rather than the solution. That is not hyperbole in any sense of the word. I am deadly earnest in making that comparison, a comparison that gets more apt with each passing day. Between the Right and Left in this country we are left with choosing which style of fascism we prefer.
If the Republican base wants to have as their champions the ugly, lowest common denominator, baser instinct sort of individuals like Sarah Palin or Sean Hannity or Bill O'Reilly or Glenn Beck, then the GOP deserves to lose election after election. If the church wants to have these same people. among them rank heretics, as the poster children of "Christianity" we can expect to continue to be ineffectual in our evangelism and unfaithful in our public witness. Just leave me out of it. Sarah Palin doesn't speak for me.
Yeah that is the kind of garbage that helps explain why she is not in charge. When the rest of the country and the world (you know those godless heathens who we are supposed to be loving) sees stuff like this they assume that this is what American style "liberty" and American style "Christianity" are all about.
It is not. Or at least it shouldn't be.
To those around the world and across America who see this foolish, anti-Christian ranting and wonder how we can talk about a Jesus who taught us to love our enemies on Sunday and turn around and torture them with simulated drowning on Monday please hear me as it pertains to Ms. Palin.
She does't speak for me as someone who champions limited government and liberty.
She especially doesn't speak for me as a follower of Christ.
I am not sure what she is peddling but the "love her or leave her" nationalistic civil religion is not in any way, shape or form a faithful representation of Christianity.
Many of those who support Ms. Palin on the Right would call themselves defenders of the Constitution. I wonder what the men who wrote the Constitution would think about the state using torture to extract information from detained prisoners, prisoners who are kept overseas to prevent them from being afforded any sort of legitimate legal representation. I doubt they would approve and modern day defenders of liberty should be equally leery because the same government that can detain and torture Muslim terrorists can detain and torture American citizens who become inconvenient to the state. I am quite sure that many of those held in Guantanamo and other CIA holding facilities around the world are bad guys, the worst of the worst. They certainly would kill me and my family without hesitation. If they are not the exact sort of people we are called to reach and love like Jesus then I don't know who is. I am pretty confident that Jesus didn't intend for his disciples to only take the Gospel to any middle class white suburban family that visits their church on Sunday. He calls us to go out to those who hate us, who will persecute and maybe even kill us, confident that if we are Christians we have nothing to fear from those who kill us. In other words those who Ms. Palin would love to torture, or more precisely have tortured by someone else lest she get her own hands dirty.
I am heartened that many conservative voice are calling her out, from Joe Carter at the Gospel Coalition (who unfortunately cannot get by without a nod to defending "our culture, our future, and our lives" with violence) to Rod Dreher at the American Conservative. Unfortunately many more "conservatives", who probably spent yesterday morning in their Sunday best singing about Jesus, are today taking to the internet to call "trolls" those who raise serious, common sense questions about the wisdom of putting someone like Sarah Palin forth as representative of people who love liberty and/or people who love Jesus. It is an ugly, knee jerk, frothing at the mouth brand of a statist mentality that looks more like the fascist rallies of the early twentieth century than a movement that sees government as the problem rather than the solution. That is not hyperbole in any sense of the word. I am deadly earnest in making that comparison, a comparison that gets more apt with each passing day. Between the Right and Left in this country we are left with choosing which style of fascism we prefer.
If the Republican base wants to have as their champions the ugly, lowest common denominator, baser instinct sort of individuals like Sarah Palin or Sean Hannity or Bill O'Reilly or Glenn Beck, then the GOP deserves to lose election after election. If the church wants to have these same people. among them rank heretics, as the poster children of "Christianity" we can expect to continue to be ineffectual in our evangelism and unfaithful in our public witness. Just leave me out of it. Sarah Palin doesn't speak for me.
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Sarah Palin on Neanderthals who dare question feminist dogma
This seems to be an odd position for someone who touts herself as a social conservative and defender of traditional values. From WorldNetDaily comes this telling snippet from an interview with Sarah Palin on Fox news….
"It kind of seems, Geraldine, that some things haven't changed," Palin said. "There are still the Neanderthals out there who pick on the petty, little, superficial, meaningless things – like looks, like whether you can or can't work outside of the home if you have small children – all those type of things where I would so hope that at some point those Neanderthals will evolve into something a bit more with it, a bit more modern, and a bit more understanding that, yeah, women can accomplish much."
Petty? You can make arguments on either end of the political spectrum or even try to use some Biblical support for it but the topic of whether or not women should work outside of the home when they have small children is anything but “petty”. I would go so far as to make the link between absentee parenting and much of the social ills we experience in America. I think having a parent at home is far more important than whether we allow/mandate prayer in schools or have textbooks that talk about the religious beliefs of the Founders or whether we allow Ten Commandments monuments on public ground.
I think women or at least one parent should stay home with their children. I don't apologize for that view and neither should anyone else. I believe it is unhealthy for kids to be raised by strangers or even worse to be hanging around at home alone. It may be unkind to bring this up but I wonder if Ms. Palin would be a grandmother already if she were at home instead of chasing fame and personal glory?
Furthermore, the prevalence of two-income families where the second income is superfluous has been, in my humble opinion, disastrous for our economic well-being and our families. In the not too distant past, most families survived quite nicely on a single income where the father worked and the mother stayed home to care for the home and the children. As we have increased the number of women working outside of the home in an misguided attempt to ”empower” women, we have seen a change in our economy. Today many, if not most, families are two wager-earner families. More people are putting off marriage and consequently putting off children while men and women alike establish their careers. By the time they get married and eventually start having kids, they are used to the things in life that two people working full-time can afford to buy. It is perceived to be much harder to make ends meet on one salary today but we used to do so quite commonly. What happened?
If you needed further proof that Sarah Palin is more useful as a spokesperson and someone to rally the troops than as a serious leader, this is it. There are a lot of people who think that women ought to have home and children as their first priority. Many of them are exactly the kind of people who Palin would depend on to win the GOP nomination. Referring to us as “Neanderthals” is probably not going to win her many votes. There is a new strain of “conservative” women who seem to think that “traditional” values boil down to opposing gay marriage and abortion while embracing a neo-feminist view of the family.
Ms. Palin, I am not really interested in “evolving” into something “more modern” if that means that we consign an ever larger number of our children to the tender mercies of day care workers and public school officials or worse yet left to fend for themselves day after day after school. I am quite convinced that “women can accomplish much” but I also think that they can do so with the children God has placed under their care instead of seeking personal glory in the workplace. What is the greater testimony of a strong woman, children who are raised well by their mother or a list of accolades from work and a high balance in your 401(k)? If a woman chooses to work outside of the home, that is between her and her husband but please let’s not resort to petty and ignorant name-calling of those who think that decision is not in the best interest of children. That is the sort of behavior I expect from political liberals who can’t argue their positions on merit, not from someone who many people think is a champion of conservative values.
Can women work outside of the home? Sure. Are there circumstances where this is actually necessary as opposed to a matter of preference? Absolutely. Is it generally better wherever possible for women to stay at home and care for their children? You betcha!
"It kind of seems, Geraldine, that some things haven't changed," Palin said. "There are still the Neanderthals out there who pick on the petty, little, superficial, meaningless things – like looks, like whether you can or can't work outside of the home if you have small children – all those type of things where I would so hope that at some point those Neanderthals will evolve into something a bit more with it, a bit more modern, and a bit more understanding that, yeah, women can accomplish much."
Petty? You can make arguments on either end of the political spectrum or even try to use some Biblical support for it but the topic of whether or not women should work outside of the home when they have small children is anything but “petty”. I would go so far as to make the link between absentee parenting and much of the social ills we experience in America. I think having a parent at home is far more important than whether we allow/mandate prayer in schools or have textbooks that talk about the religious beliefs of the Founders or whether we allow Ten Commandments monuments on public ground.
I think women or at least one parent should stay home with their children. I don't apologize for that view and neither should anyone else. I believe it is unhealthy for kids to be raised by strangers or even worse to be hanging around at home alone. It may be unkind to bring this up but I wonder if Ms. Palin would be a grandmother already if she were at home instead of chasing fame and personal glory?
Furthermore, the prevalence of two-income families where the second income is superfluous has been, in my humble opinion, disastrous for our economic well-being and our families. In the not too distant past, most families survived quite nicely on a single income where the father worked and the mother stayed home to care for the home and the children. As we have increased the number of women working outside of the home in an misguided attempt to ”empower” women, we have seen a change in our economy. Today many, if not most, families are two wager-earner families. More people are putting off marriage and consequently putting off children while men and women alike establish their careers. By the time they get married and eventually start having kids, they are used to the things in life that two people working full-time can afford to buy. It is perceived to be much harder to make ends meet on one salary today but we used to do so quite commonly. What happened?
If you needed further proof that Sarah Palin is more useful as a spokesperson and someone to rally the troops than as a serious leader, this is it. There are a lot of people who think that women ought to have home and children as their first priority. Many of them are exactly the kind of people who Palin would depend on to win the GOP nomination. Referring to us as “Neanderthals” is probably not going to win her many votes. There is a new strain of “conservative” women who seem to think that “traditional” values boil down to opposing gay marriage and abortion while embracing a neo-feminist view of the family.
Ms. Palin, I am not really interested in “evolving” into something “more modern” if that means that we consign an ever larger number of our children to the tender mercies of day care workers and public school officials or worse yet left to fend for themselves day after day after school. I am quite convinced that “women can accomplish much” but I also think that they can do so with the children God has placed under their care instead of seeking personal glory in the workplace. What is the greater testimony of a strong woman, children who are raised well by their mother or a list of accolades from work and a high balance in your 401(k)? If a woman chooses to work outside of the home, that is between her and her husband but please let’s not resort to petty and ignorant name-calling of those who think that decision is not in the best interest of children. That is the sort of behavior I expect from political liberals who can’t argue their positions on merit, not from someone who many people think is a champion of conservative values.
Can women work outside of the home? Sure. Are there circumstances where this is actually necessary as opposed to a matter of preference? Absolutely. Is it generally better wherever possible for women to stay at home and care for their children? You betcha!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
The Republican dilemma
This was a great quote from Peggy Noonan’s editorial Mere Presidents dealing with the quandary that the GOP finds itself in as the Anointing…er, the Coronation…um, the Inauguration of Barack Obama looms in one week from today.
Soon after the speech, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reacted with caution. He was low key. He didn't attack. He said the current projected deficit of $1.2 trillion is "an eye-popping number," and said he liked the part of Mr. Obama's program that includes reducing tax rates for the middle class. "We intend to work with the new president . . . to try and get this right," he said. The Republicans in the Senate are like swimmers ten feet offshore. They're going to let the Obama wave roll over them, wait for the water level to even out, and then make a move. Who would believe them claiming to be the party of fiscal responsibility and smaller government now anyway? They need more time to pass between the high-spending Bush years and an eventual—and one hopes principled—opposition to Obamanomics.
That is exactly right. We are on the precipice of an enormous deficit. ONE TRILLION DOLLARS. This is what that looks like: $1,000,000,000,000. That is a lot of zeros. If I am doing the math right (keep in mind I managed a Bachelor of Arts degree from a real university and have zero credit hours of math at the university level), that means that given approximately 300 million Americans, that number works out to something like $3000 of Federal debt for every man, woman and child in this country. For my family, that means we have a $30,000 share of the Federal debt. However since we, like MANY families, don’t pay Federal income tax that means that the real burden is on those families that do pay, so their relative proportion of that debt is much, much higher than $3000/person. Thanks to all of our double income, no children, tax-paying fellow citizens for shouldering the burden for all of the rest of us! That figure is even scarier when you realize that we are already in for a trillion dollar deficit before Obama even starts getting his hand in the cookie jar in a serious way.
Fiscal irresponsibility like what is being proposed needs a counteragent, a voice of sanity to say “Whoa Nellie!” That voice should be conservatives and by default the Republican party. Unfortunately, the GOP in power more or less for the last decade plus has been on a pork barrel spending spree akin to a drunken sailor on shore leave. The American public will swallow a lot, but the hypocrisy of the GOP calling for restraint now, once they are out of power, is like Bill Clinton appealing for traditional moral values or Rod Blagojevich calling for responsible government. It rings false.
The GOP is powerless, leaderless and rudderless and they find themselves in this state at the worst possible time, a time in our nation’s history that cries out for fiscal discipline and sound judgment, for some sanity and level headedness. What is worse is that their wounds are all self-inflicted. Barack Obama should have been easy to beat: hyper-liberal, unqualified, too young, too coldly cocky, too much baggage in personal acquaintances, etc. Instead he cleaned McCain’s clock, yet another GOP candidate who was chosen by default or because it was his turn (see: Bob Dole). The potential saving grace of Sarah Palin was squandered by hiding her away and then having her utterly unprepared when she did face the media. Instead of a media blitz after the convention, she disappeared into Vice-President Cheney’s “undisclosed location” and in doing so her handlers and the McCain campaign gave liberals and their allies in the media time to recover from the stomach punch she gave them at the GOP convention, regain their footing and go on the attack. If you have the ball third and long deep in your own end of the field and then uncork a long pass that takes you to the opponents one yard line, you don’t call timeout and let them regroup. What the GOP did was the equivalent of that followed by eight successive penalties for delay of game and false start. Next thing you know, instead of first and goal on the one, it is fourth and goal from the fifty yard line. Governor Palin is no fool, she certainly is not stupid but her handlers might be and now she is potentially fatally crippled, a future rock star for the GOP relegated to being the attractive female version of Dan Quayle. Possibly our strongest candidate for 2012 has become an almost sure loser in the general election unless she can put together an unprecedented extreme makeover in the next two years before the 2012 campaign really starts in earnest. I can't see the media letting her do that, since they know she is a major threat.
What we are left with is the perfect storm of an almost irresistible liberal majority in both houses of Congress, a uber-liberal President, a public that is so scared that they will go along with anything they think will save their skins and an self-emasculated Republican party that is unable to say anything to stop the madness. If you think a trillion dollar deficit is huge, you ain’t seen nothing yet! It is times like these that make me glad to be a Calvinst, because if I didn’t believe in a sovereign God I would be in utter despair right now.
Soon after the speech, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reacted with caution. He was low key. He didn't attack. He said the current projected deficit of $1.2 trillion is "an eye-popping number," and said he liked the part of Mr. Obama's program that includes reducing tax rates for the middle class. "We intend to work with the new president . . . to try and get this right," he said. The Republicans in the Senate are like swimmers ten feet offshore. They're going to let the Obama wave roll over them, wait for the water level to even out, and then make a move. Who would believe them claiming to be the party of fiscal responsibility and smaller government now anyway? They need more time to pass between the high-spending Bush years and an eventual—and one hopes principled—opposition to Obamanomics.
That is exactly right. We are on the precipice of an enormous deficit. ONE TRILLION DOLLARS. This is what that looks like: $1,000,000,000,000. That is a lot of zeros. If I am doing the math right (keep in mind I managed a Bachelor of Arts degree from a real university and have zero credit hours of math at the university level), that means that given approximately 300 million Americans, that number works out to something like $3000 of Federal debt for every man, woman and child in this country. For my family, that means we have a $30,000 share of the Federal debt. However since we, like MANY families, don’t pay Federal income tax that means that the real burden is on those families that do pay, so their relative proportion of that debt is much, much higher than $3000/person. Thanks to all of our double income, no children, tax-paying fellow citizens for shouldering the burden for all of the rest of us! That figure is even scarier when you realize that we are already in for a trillion dollar deficit before Obama even starts getting his hand in the cookie jar in a serious way.
Fiscal irresponsibility like what is being proposed needs a counteragent, a voice of sanity to say “Whoa Nellie!” That voice should be conservatives and by default the Republican party. Unfortunately, the GOP in power more or less for the last decade plus has been on a pork barrel spending spree akin to a drunken sailor on shore leave. The American public will swallow a lot, but the hypocrisy of the GOP calling for restraint now, once they are out of power, is like Bill Clinton appealing for traditional moral values or Rod Blagojevich calling for responsible government. It rings false.
The GOP is powerless, leaderless and rudderless and they find themselves in this state at the worst possible time, a time in our nation’s history that cries out for fiscal discipline and sound judgment, for some sanity and level headedness. What is worse is that their wounds are all self-inflicted. Barack Obama should have been easy to beat: hyper-liberal, unqualified, too young, too coldly cocky, too much baggage in personal acquaintances, etc. Instead he cleaned McCain’s clock, yet another GOP candidate who was chosen by default or because it was his turn (see: Bob Dole). The potential saving grace of Sarah Palin was squandered by hiding her away and then having her utterly unprepared when she did face the media. Instead of a media blitz after the convention, she disappeared into Vice-President Cheney’s “undisclosed location” and in doing so her handlers and the McCain campaign gave liberals and their allies in the media time to recover from the stomach punch she gave them at the GOP convention, regain their footing and go on the attack. If you have the ball third and long deep in your own end of the field and then uncork a long pass that takes you to the opponents one yard line, you don’t call timeout and let them regroup. What the GOP did was the equivalent of that followed by eight successive penalties for delay of game and false start. Next thing you know, instead of first and goal on the one, it is fourth and goal from the fifty yard line. Governor Palin is no fool, she certainly is not stupid but her handlers might be and now she is potentially fatally crippled, a future rock star for the GOP relegated to being the attractive female version of Dan Quayle. Possibly our strongest candidate for 2012 has become an almost sure loser in the general election unless she can put together an unprecedented extreme makeover in the next two years before the 2012 campaign really starts in earnest. I can't see the media letting her do that, since they know she is a major threat.
What we are left with is the perfect storm of an almost irresistible liberal majority in both houses of Congress, a uber-liberal President, a public that is so scared that they will go along with anything they think will save their skins and an self-emasculated Republican party that is unable to say anything to stop the madness. If you think a trillion dollar deficit is huge, you ain’t seen nothing yet! It is times like these that make me glad to be a Calvinst, because if I didn’t believe in a sovereign God I would be in utter despair right now.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
What media bias?
I assume no one is surprised by this headline...
VP Debate Moderator Pens Pro-Obama Book
WASHINGTON: Gwen Ifill, who is moderating Thursday's vice-presidential debate, is releasing a book on Barack Obama and other young black politicians who are "forging a bold new path to political power."
Questions are being raised about the objectivity of Thursday's vice presidential debate moderator after news surfaced that she is releasing a new book promoting Barack Obama and other black politicians who have benefited from the civil rights struggle.
Gwen Ifill, of PBS' "The NewsHour," is expected to remain as moderator, however.
"The book has been a known factor for months, so I'm not sure what the big deal is," said NewsHour spokeswoman Anne Bell.
She told FOXNews.com that there were no concerns about Ifill's neutrality, and that the debate Thursday between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden would go forward as planned. Ifill also moderated the 2004 vice presidential debate.
"We were pleased that the (debate) commission once again turned to Gwen to moderate the debate," Bell said. "They've known and trusted her as a moderator and that's wonderful."
Ifill's book, "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama," is due to be released about the same time the next president takes the oath of office.
In her book, Ifill contends that the black political structure of the civil rights movement has cleared the way for post-racial politicians to ascend to new heights.
Now some are wondering whether Ifill can be fair and balanced, and whether she should be the moderator of Thursday's 9 p.m. ET debate.
"Clearly her books aren't going to do as well unless Obama wins, so it looks like she has some investment, literally, in one candidate or the other. And she's supposed to be sitting there as a neutral arbiter during the debate," said NPR's Juan Williams, a FOX News contributor. "I think the world of Gwen Ifill but I know there's a perception problem."
John McCain told FOX News Wednesday he believes Ifill will be "objective" at the debate.
"Does this help if she has written a book that's favorable to Senator Obama? Probably not," McCain said. "But I have confidence Gwen Ifill will do a professional job."
Why the media even pretends to be unbiased shows how delusional and self-important they really are. Maybe we can have Rush Limbaugh moderate a debate for McCain and Obama? What is really sad is that most people are so starstruck by Obama that they don't realize what a creation of the media he is and how dangerous he is for America.
VP Debate Moderator Pens Pro-Obama Book
WASHINGTON: Gwen Ifill, who is moderating Thursday's vice-presidential debate, is releasing a book on Barack Obama and other young black politicians who are "forging a bold new path to political power."
Questions are being raised about the objectivity of Thursday's vice presidential debate moderator after news surfaced that she is releasing a new book promoting Barack Obama and other black politicians who have benefited from the civil rights struggle.
Gwen Ifill, of PBS' "The NewsHour," is expected to remain as moderator, however.
"The book has been a known factor for months, so I'm not sure what the big deal is," said NewsHour spokeswoman Anne Bell.
She told FOXNews.com that there were no concerns about Ifill's neutrality, and that the debate Thursday between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden would go forward as planned. Ifill also moderated the 2004 vice presidential debate.
"We were pleased that the (debate) commission once again turned to Gwen to moderate the debate," Bell said. "They've known and trusted her as a moderator and that's wonderful."
Ifill's book, "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama," is due to be released about the same time the next president takes the oath of office.
In her book, Ifill contends that the black political structure of the civil rights movement has cleared the way for post-racial politicians to ascend to new heights.
Now some are wondering whether Ifill can be fair and balanced, and whether she should be the moderator of Thursday's 9 p.m. ET debate.
"Clearly her books aren't going to do as well unless Obama wins, so it looks like she has some investment, literally, in one candidate or the other. And she's supposed to be sitting there as a neutral arbiter during the debate," said NPR's Juan Williams, a FOX News contributor. "I think the world of Gwen Ifill but I know there's a perception problem."
John McCain told FOX News Wednesday he believes Ifill will be "objective" at the debate.
"Does this help if she has written a book that's favorable to Senator Obama? Probably not," McCain said. "But I have confidence Gwen Ifill will do a professional job."
Why the media even pretends to be unbiased shows how delusional and self-important they really are. Maybe we can have Rush Limbaugh moderate a debate for McCain and Obama? What is really sad is that most people are so starstruck by Obama that they don't realize what a creation of the media he is and how dangerous he is for America.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
It's gotta be the shoes!
Sarah Palin is having an impact on the Presidential campaign unprecedented in modern times by a VP candidate. Obama is acting like he is running against her, which I think makes him look weak because he can't even beat Palin and he is supposed to be running against McCain. Everything she does or says is front page news, and now so is what she wears. The Wall Street Journal ran a piece on how her Naught Monkey red pumps are hot sellers these days. But now every seller of her garb is happy about it.
Not everyone is cashing in on their association with the Alaskan governor. The famously liberal New York fashion establishment seems to have paid little attention to Gov. Palin while publicly embracing the Obamas.
Vogue Editor Anna Wintour and designer Calvin Klein held a fund-raiser for the Democratic nominee in June, and over a dozen designers, including Diane von Furstenberg, Marc Jacobs, Vera Wang, Narciso Rodriguez, Tory Burch and Isaac Mizrahi, have designed T-shirts and other merchandise for the Obama Web site.
Steven Kolb, executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, says he "couldn't envision" that the fashion industry would be lending its design talents to the Republican ticket.
Likewise, Patagonia Inc., which Gov. Palin has identified at least partly in jest as one of her favorite designers, has "absolutely no" plans to promote the association, says company spokeswoman Jen Rapp.
"Patagonia's environmental mission greatly differs from Sarah Palin's," Ms. Rapp says. "Just wearing the clothing of an environmental company does not necessarily make someone an environmentalist."
You can almost hear the smarmy sniff when Ms. Rapp said that. Want to bet that Ms. Rapp barely ever goes outside except to catch a cab or go skiing? Ironically I would say the same thing about wearing Pata-gucci or having a greenpeace sticker on your car. Patagonia makes their money, the vast majority of it, by selling overpriced stuff to people in urban and suburban areas who want to look outdoorsy and environmentally conscious. If they were really concerned, they would buy second hand clothes instead of brand new stuff made overseas. The whole company is based on a snobbish attitude of being green friendly and paying a hefty price for it. I would hazard a guess that 99% of Patagonia gear is never worn anywhere more exotic than Des Moines, Iowa.
Not everyone is cashing in on their association with the Alaskan governor. The famously liberal New York fashion establishment seems to have paid little attention to Gov. Palin while publicly embracing the Obamas.
Vogue Editor Anna Wintour and designer Calvin Klein held a fund-raiser for the Democratic nominee in June, and over a dozen designers, including Diane von Furstenberg, Marc Jacobs, Vera Wang, Narciso Rodriguez, Tory Burch and Isaac Mizrahi, have designed T-shirts and other merchandise for the Obama Web site.
Steven Kolb, executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, says he "couldn't envision" that the fashion industry would be lending its design talents to the Republican ticket.
Likewise, Patagonia Inc., which Gov. Palin has identified at least partly in jest as one of her favorite designers, has "absolutely no" plans to promote the association, says company spokeswoman Jen Rapp.
"Patagonia's environmental mission greatly differs from Sarah Palin's," Ms. Rapp says. "Just wearing the clothing of an environmental company does not necessarily make someone an environmentalist."
You can almost hear the smarmy sniff when Ms. Rapp said that. Want to bet that Ms. Rapp barely ever goes outside except to catch a cab or go skiing? Ironically I would say the same thing about wearing Pata-gucci or having a greenpeace sticker on your car. Patagonia makes their money, the vast majority of it, by selling overpriced stuff to people in urban and suburban areas who want to look outdoorsy and environmentally conscious. If they were really concerned, they would buy second hand clothes instead of brand new stuff made overseas. The whole company is based on a snobbish attitude of being green friendly and paying a hefty price for it. I would hazard a guess that 99% of Patagonia gear is never worn anywhere more exotic than Des Moines, Iowa.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Thursday, September 04, 2008
More on Palin
The praise is just effusive. The National Review people, the more or less mainstream media says it was Reaganesque and even the leftist media talking heads are for the most part giving her grudging praise (i.e. pretty good speech from a backwards governor of a nowhere state)
One guy on the local detroit news channel kind of smarmily said: "She proved see can read a well-written speech" How condescending was that? The liberal hit men are out and complaining that her speech was written by someone else. Every politician uses speech writers, even the Anointed One and some of them, like Joe Biden, plagiarize parts of their speeches.
Perhaps the Obama's cronies and the left leaning (being generous) media will be a bit more circumspect about attacking Palin in the future. One that particular can of whup behind is opened, it is not about to be closed.
One guy on the local detroit news channel kind of smarmily said: "She proved see can read a well-written speech" How condescending was that? The liberal hit men are out and complaining that her speech was written by someone else. Every politician uses speech writers, even the Anointed One and some of them, like Joe Biden, plagiarize parts of their speeches.
Perhaps the Obama's cronies and the left leaning (being generous) media will be a bit more circumspect about attacking Palin in the future. One that particular can of whup behind is opened, it is not about to be closed.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Hey I have employees too!
How whiny does this sound from Obama...
Obama: I Have More Executive Experience Than Palin
Barack Obama contends that he is more experienced in executive matters than Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin because he has managed his presidential campaign for the past 18 months.
Speaking on a cable news channel Monday night, the Democratic presidential nominee said he is better prepared to handle a disaster like Hurricane Gustav because of his pursuit of the White House.
“Well, my understanding is that Governor Palin’s town of Wasilla has, I think, 50 employees. We’ve got 2,500 in this campaign. I think their budget is maybe $12 million a year. You know, we have a budget of about three times that just for the month. So I think that our ability to manage large systems and to execute I think has been made clear over the last couple of years,” Obama said.
John McCain’s spokesman called the suggestion “laughable.”
“For Barack Obama to argue that he’s experienced enough to be president because he’s running for president is desperate circular logic and its laughable. It is a testament to Barack Obama’s inexperience and failing qualifications that he would stoop to passing off his candidacy as comparable to Governor Sarah Palin’s executive experience managing a budget of over $10 billion and more than 24,000 employees,” said spokesman Tucker Bounds.
I love it, his "executive" experience is having campaign staff, almost none of whom report to him and many who have never met him. He just comes across sounding petty here, which I think it totally in character for him.
Obama: I Have More Executive Experience Than Palin
Barack Obama contends that he is more experienced in executive matters than Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin because he has managed his presidential campaign for the past 18 months.
Speaking on a cable news channel Monday night, the Democratic presidential nominee said he is better prepared to handle a disaster like Hurricane Gustav because of his pursuit of the White House.
“Well, my understanding is that Governor Palin’s town of Wasilla has, I think, 50 employees. We’ve got 2,500 in this campaign. I think their budget is maybe $12 million a year. You know, we have a budget of about three times that just for the month. So I think that our ability to manage large systems and to execute I think has been made clear over the last couple of years,” Obama said.
John McCain’s spokesman called the suggestion “laughable.”
“For Barack Obama to argue that he’s experienced enough to be president because he’s running for president is desperate circular logic and its laughable. It is a testament to Barack Obama’s inexperience and failing qualifications that he would stoop to passing off his candidacy as comparable to Governor Sarah Palin’s executive experience managing a budget of over $10 billion and more than 24,000 employees,” said spokesman Tucker Bounds.
I love it, his "executive" experience is having campaign staff, almost none of whom report to him and many who have never met him. He just comes across sounding petty here, which I think it totally in character for him.
Sarah Palin is DY-NO-MITE!
Sarah Palin is quite a dynamo behind the mike. She is funny, engaging, feeds off the crowd, delivers her applause lines with punch. Best line so far was in response to a "Hockey Moms 4 Palin" sign:
"The difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull? Lipstick!"
Man, she is engaging and sassy and has a little bit of bite. Old man Joe Biden better pack a lunch when the debate rolls around!
(P.S. I love her suit! Subtle and subdued, very feminine and flattering)
"The difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull? Lipstick!"
Man, she is engaging and sassy and has a little bit of bite. Old man Joe Biden better pack a lunch when the debate rolls around!
(P.S. I love her suit! Subtle and subdued, very feminine and flattering)
Monday, September 01, 2008
Feminism is not about women, it is about liberal women
Gotta love this condescending, smarmy hit piece by left wing moonbat Maureen Dowd, attacking Governor Sarah Palin for being too...too...regular womanish?
The guilty pleasure I miss most when I’m out slogging on the campaign trail is the chance to sprawl on the chaise and watch a vacuously spunky and generically sassy chick flick.
So imagine my delight, my absolute astonishment, when the hokey chick flick came out on the trail, a Cinderella story so preposterous it’s hard to believe it’s not premiering on Lifetime. Instead of going home and watching “Miss Congeniality” with Sandra Bullock, I get to stay here and watch “Miss Congeniality” with Sarah Palin.
Sheer heaven.
It’s easy to see where this movie is going. It begins, of course, with a cute, cool unknown from Alaska who has never even been on “Meet the Press” triumphing over a cute, cool unknowable from Hawaii who has been on “Meet the Press” a lot.
Americans, suspicious that the Obamas have benefited from affirmative action without being properly grateful, and skeptical that Michelle really likes “The Brady Bunch” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” reject the 47-year-old black contender as too uppity and untested.
Instead, they embrace 72-year-old John McCain and 44-year-old Sarah Palin, whose average age is 58, a mere two years older than the average age of the Obama-Biden ticket. Enthusiastic Republicans don’t see the choice of Palin as affirmative action, despite her thin résumé and gaping absence of foreign policy knowledge, because they expect Republicans to put an underqualified “babe,” as Rush Limbaugh calls her, on the ticket. They have a tradition of nominating fun, bantamweight cheerleaders from the West, like the previous Miss Congeniality types Dan Quayle and W., and then letting them learn on the job. So they crash into the globe a few times while they’re learning to drive, what’s the big deal?
Obama may have been president of The Harvard Law Review, but Palin graduated from the University of Idaho with a minor in poli-sci and worked briefly as a TV sports reporter. And she was tougher on the basketball court than the ethereal Obama, earning the nickname “Sarah Barracuda.”
Methinks that Maureen Dowd is just a touch bitter. Could it be that she sees a woman who is way more attractive and successful than she will ever be, and is jealous? Note the arrogant jab because Governor Palin "just" went to the University of Idaho. Remember that liberals love the working folks? Yeah right. Liberals despise working class people except in concept and as long as they never have to deal with one. A regular person as Vice-President? The horror! I mean, she went to the University of Utah for crying out loud! Dear me, I think Ms. Dowd is being, dare I say, a little catty?
It has never been more apparent that the leftist media establishment women care nothing about real women and their issues. All they really care about are politically charged issues. What the feminist agenda is all about is not the issues that women care about, they are socialist political items that disproportionately impact the female gender. There aren't legions of feminists lined up to celebrate Sarah Palin, because she isn't the right sort of woman, just like the liberal long knives came out for Clarence Thomas because he wasn't the right sort of black man, and had strayed from the liberal plantation. Liberals love minorities as long as they smile, keep their mouths shut and pull the right lever on election day. But woe to the woman or the minority who dares hold a different position, because you will see the Maureen Dowds and Anita Hills coming out of the woodwork.
The guilty pleasure I miss most when I’m out slogging on the campaign trail is the chance to sprawl on the chaise and watch a vacuously spunky and generically sassy chick flick.
So imagine my delight, my absolute astonishment, when the hokey chick flick came out on the trail, a Cinderella story so preposterous it’s hard to believe it’s not premiering on Lifetime. Instead of going home and watching “Miss Congeniality” with Sandra Bullock, I get to stay here and watch “Miss Congeniality” with Sarah Palin.
Sheer heaven.
It’s easy to see where this movie is going. It begins, of course, with a cute, cool unknown from Alaska who has never even been on “Meet the Press” triumphing over a cute, cool unknowable from Hawaii who has been on “Meet the Press” a lot.
Americans, suspicious that the Obamas have benefited from affirmative action without being properly grateful, and skeptical that Michelle really likes “The Brady Bunch” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” reject the 47-year-old black contender as too uppity and untested.
Instead, they embrace 72-year-old John McCain and 44-year-old Sarah Palin, whose average age is 58, a mere two years older than the average age of the Obama-Biden ticket. Enthusiastic Republicans don’t see the choice of Palin as affirmative action, despite her thin résumé and gaping absence of foreign policy knowledge, because they expect Republicans to put an underqualified “babe,” as Rush Limbaugh calls her, on the ticket. They have a tradition of nominating fun, bantamweight cheerleaders from the West, like the previous Miss Congeniality types Dan Quayle and W., and then letting them learn on the job. So they crash into the globe a few times while they’re learning to drive, what’s the big deal?
Obama may have been president of The Harvard Law Review, but Palin graduated from the University of Idaho with a minor in poli-sci and worked briefly as a TV sports reporter. And she was tougher on the basketball court than the ethereal Obama, earning the nickname “Sarah Barracuda.”
Methinks that Maureen Dowd is just a touch bitter. Could it be that she sees a woman who is way more attractive and successful than she will ever be, and is jealous? Note the arrogant jab because Governor Palin "just" went to the University of Idaho. Remember that liberals love the working folks? Yeah right. Liberals despise working class people except in concept and as long as they never have to deal with one. A regular person as Vice-President? The horror! I mean, she went to the University of Utah for crying out loud! Dear me, I think Ms. Dowd is being, dare I say, a little catty?
It has never been more apparent that the leftist media establishment women care nothing about real women and their issues. All they really care about are politically charged issues. What the feminist agenda is all about is not the issues that women care about, they are socialist political items that disproportionately impact the female gender. There aren't legions of feminists lined up to celebrate Sarah Palin, because she isn't the right sort of woman, just like the liberal long knives came out for Clarence Thomas because he wasn't the right sort of black man, and had strayed from the liberal plantation. Liberals love minorities as long as they smile, keep their mouths shut and pull the right lever on election day. But woe to the woman or the minority who dares hold a different position, because you will see the Maureen Dowds and Anita Hills coming out of the woodwork.
Compare and Contrast
Barack Obama on the prospect of an unplanned teen pregnancy for one of his daughters:
But it should also include -- it should also include other, you know, information about contraception because, look, I've got two daughters. 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby. I don't want them punished with an STD at the age of 16. You know, so it doesn't make sense to not give them information."
Sarah Palin on the reality of an unplanned teen pregnancy:
“We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us,” the Palins said in the statement. “Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We’re proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support.”
Not ideal circumstances obviously, for any family much less the Governor of a state and the Republican nominee for Vice-President. But bad things happen in families. How you react tells an awful lot about your character. As Katherine Jean Lopez said on National Review:
That the candidate in the family doesn't view her daughter having her baby as a punishment makes all the difference.
But it should also include -- it should also include other, you know, information about contraception because, look, I've got two daughters. 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby. I don't want them punished with an STD at the age of 16. You know, so it doesn't make sense to not give them information."
Sarah Palin on the reality of an unplanned teen pregnancy:
“We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us,” the Palins said in the statement. “Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We’re proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support.”
Not ideal circumstances obviously, for any family much less the Governor of a state and the Republican nominee for Vice-President. But bad things happen in families. How you react tells an awful lot about your character. As Katherine Jean Lopez said on National Review:
That the candidate in the family doesn't view her daughter having her baby as a punishment makes all the difference.
How did this get missed?
Palin’s 17-Year-Old Daughter is Pregnant
Sarah and Todd Palin say their 17-year-old unmarried daughter is pregnant.The couple said in a statement released by John McCain’s presidential campaign that Bristol will keep her baby.
Sarah Palin is McCain’s vice presidential running mate.
The Alaska governor says Bristol intends to marry the father of her child.
She and the campaign also are asking that the media respect the family’s privacy
Unfortunately your family doesn't get privacy when you are running for VP. I assume that
McCain's people knew this when she was picked.
(UPDATED)According to CNN, McCain and his people knew about this...
ST. PAUL (CNN) - Bristol Palin, the 17 year old daughter of Sarah Palin, is pregnant and will keep the baby and marry the father, a senior McCain aide confirmed to CNN Monday.
McCain was aware of Bristol Palin’s pregnancy before he chose her mother for his running mate, the aide said.
“Senator McCain knew this and felt in no way did it disqualify her from being vice president,” said the aide. “Families have difficulties sometimes and lucky for her she has a supportive family.”
Bristol Palin, a senior in high school, is about 5 months along, in her second trimester, according to the aide.
The aide said they decided to reveal this information now because of rampant Internet rumors that Sarah Palin’s four month old baby, who has Down’s Syndrome, was actually Bristol’s.
“In the course of correcting that, we needed to get the truth out,” said the McCain aide.
In a statement from Sarah and Todd Palin, they said they were “proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents.”
They also asked the media to respect their daughter’s privacy.
The McCain aide insisted a key point to keep in mind is that Bristol decided to keep the baby, a decision “supported by her parents.”
Sarah and Todd Palin say their 17-year-old unmarried daughter is pregnant.The couple said in a statement released by John McCain’s presidential campaign that Bristol will keep her baby.
Sarah Palin is McCain’s vice presidential running mate.
The Alaska governor says Bristol intends to marry the father of her child.
She and the campaign also are asking that the media respect the family’s privacy
Unfortunately your family doesn't get privacy when you are running for VP. I assume that
McCain's people knew this when she was picked.
(UPDATED)According to CNN, McCain and his people knew about this...
ST. PAUL (CNN) - Bristol Palin, the 17 year old daughter of Sarah Palin, is pregnant and will keep the baby and marry the father, a senior McCain aide confirmed to CNN Monday.
McCain was aware of Bristol Palin’s pregnancy before he chose her mother for his running mate, the aide said.
“Senator McCain knew this and felt in no way did it disqualify her from being vice president,” said the aide. “Families have difficulties sometimes and lucky for her she has a supportive family.”
Bristol Palin, a senior in high school, is about 5 months along, in her second trimester, according to the aide.
The aide said they decided to reveal this information now because of rampant Internet rumors that Sarah Palin’s four month old baby, who has Down’s Syndrome, was actually Bristol’s.
“In the course of correcting that, we needed to get the truth out,” said the McCain aide.
In a statement from Sarah and Todd Palin, they said they were “proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents.”
They also asked the media to respect their daughter’s privacy.
The McCain aide insisted a key point to keep in mind is that Bristol decided to keep the baby, a decision “supported by her parents.”
Friday, August 29, 2008
History in the making
One way or the other, history is going to be made this fall
We will either have a black man as President or a woman as Vice-President. Palin is a great pick. She may not really be the very best person for the job, but she steals a ton of Obama's thunder, both because of the timing of the pick and who she is. The buzz tonight is all on Palin, and not on Obama's speech last night. Professional women will like Palin, mothers will like Palin and given her NRA membership, men who otherwise may not have voted for a woman on a ticket will like Palin. McCain may have gone a long way toward winning the Presidency today.
Now what will really be great is when a candidate is viewed on their stance and qualification instead of their gender or race...
More on the Palin Pick later...
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