Sunday, August 31, 2008
OK. McCain made a Joke in 2000 about being a V.P.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apdFC-vh6Ng
It was March 2000. McCain was running against George W. Bush in the primary contest for the GOP nomination -- and losing. On "Meet the Press," Tim Russert asked McCain what he would say if, in the interest of party unity, Bush offered him the No. 2 spot on the ticket.
It was March 2000. McCain was running against George W. Bush in the primary contest for the GOP nomination -- and losing. On "Meet the Press," Tim Russert asked McCain what he would say if, in the interest of party unity, Bush offered him the No. 2 spot on the ticket.
I was wondering when someone was going to look at a map...
When a Fox News morning host, Steve Doocy, testified to Sarah Palin's national security experience on Friday by saying that her state, Alaska, was so close to Russia, it drew hoots across the media and blogosphere (and even, no doubt, from a few Fox viewers). This morning, on ABC in an interview with George Stephanopoulos, Cindy McCain endorsed this very view.
Asked about Palin's national security experience, Cindy McCain could not come up with anything beyond the fact that, after all, her state is right next to Russia.
"You know, the experience that she comes from is, what she has done in government -- and remember that Alaska is the closest part of our continent to Russia."
She added that Palin has "was more experience than...." but Stephanopoulos cut her off before she could say, for example, "Barack Obama" or maybe "others give her credit for."
Earlier, she said that Palin was "heavily experienced" in general, citing her going from the PTA to mayor to governor -- and having a son headed for Iraq.
She actually said that she started her political career at the PTA "like everybody else." She also said she met her just before Palin's meeting with McCain on Thursday and came away impressed that she too was a "reformer."
Meanwhile, Palin's mother-in-law, Faye Palin, told a New York Daily News reporter that she didn't agree with Sarah on everything and hadn't yet decided how she would vote. She added: "I'm not sure what she brings to the ticket other than she's a woman and a conservative. Well, she's a better speaker than McCain," Faye Palin said with a laugh.
But this actually isn't as appalling as a phone interview Palin herself gave yesterday to reporter back home, at the Anchorage Daily News.
The reporter, Kyle Hopkins, asked, according to the transcript posted today, "Are you ready to be President Palin if necessary?"
"I am ... I am up to the task, of course, of focusing on the challenges that face America," she answered, and that was all she could say on her behalf on this question.
Then she abruptly shifted to how her candidacy would help Alaska. "And I am very pleased with the situation that I am in, when, when you consider the situation now that Alaska will be in.
"And that is Alaska, and Alaskans will be allowed to contribute more to our great country and they'll be allowed to do that because I -- if we're elected -- will be in a position of opening the eyes of the country to what it is that Alaska is all about and what Alaska has to offer. So, I am happy to and very honored to be asked to do this. I know it's going to be great for Alaska."
"And that is Alaska, and Alaskans will be allowed to contribute more to our great country and they'll be allowed to do that because I -- if we're elected -- will be in a position of opening the eyes of the country to what it is that Alaska is all about and what Alaska has to offer. So, I am happy to and very honored to be asked to do this. I know it's going to be great for Alaska."
Who said the woman was against earmarks?
The early returns are not good, with most in the media still stepping lightly around the issue of John McCain's hypocrisy in asserting, for months, that Barack Obama is "dangerously" inexperienced in facing international threats -- and then appointing Sarah Palin as his running mate.
If you don't believe it, just keep reading the Alaska newspapers.
Note to Blogger Support
1. Spell checking would be good.
2. WYSIWYG would be nice for editing.
3. Timer that goes off after 3o minutes and at 10 PM.
FD
2. WYSIWYG would be nice for editing.
3. Timer that goes off after 3o minutes and at 10 PM.
FD
Your Tax Dollars at Work! Look it is going to Carthage Texas!
Oil Group Joins Alaska in Suing To Overturn Polar Bear Protection
FD: Polar Bears are in the news.
1. Their tongue is BLUE. Their skin is BLACK.
2. Their fur acts like optic fibers and pulls MORE solar heat to their bodies.
3. They are suffering from climate change, including pollution from USa.
4. They are moving South and interbreeding with other bears.
READ MORE: click on the Polar Bear picture for the animal of the Week to the left.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/30/AR2008083001538.html?hpid=sec-nation
By Kari LydersenWashington Post Staff Writer Sunday, August 31, 2008; Page A04
CHICAGO -- The American Petroleum Institute and four other business groups filed suit Thursday against Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director H. Dale Hall, joining Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's administration in trying to reverse the listing of the polar bear as a threatened species.
On Aug. 4, the state of Alaska filed a lawsuit opposing the polar bear's listing, arguing that populations as a whole are stable and that melting sea ice does not pose an imminent threat to their survival. The suit says polar bears have survived warming periods in the past. The federal government has 60 days from the filing date to respond.
One of the plaintiff in Thursday's lawsuit, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), lauded the choice of Palin as the Republican vice presidential nominee for reasons including her advocacy of Alaskan oil and gas exploration, which many fear could be affected by the bear's protected status.
NAM and the petroleum institute were joined in the lawsuit by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Mining Association and the American Iron and Steel Institute. They object to what they call the "Alaska Gap" in relation to the special rule the federal government issued in May in conjunction with the polar bear's protected status. The rule, meant to prevent the polar bear's status from being used as a tool for imposing greenhouse gas limits, exempts projects in all states except Alaska from undergoing review in relation to emissions.
NAM Vice President Keith McCoy said the group sees the rule as unfairly subjecting Alaskan industry to greenhouse gas controls and also opening a back door for greenhouse gas regulation nationwide. "This could significantly curtail oil and gas exploration," especially on Alaska's North Slope, he said. "It's discrimination against the state of Alaska. During a time when gas prices are high and we need to look at all options, to issue something that shuts off a viable resource" is ill-advised, he said.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the D.C. Circuit, notes that greenhouse gas emissions worldwide contribute to global warming. It says projects in Alaska should not be subject to special scrutiny because of the polar bear's status.
Kassie Siegel, climate program director for the Center for Biological Diversity, which originally petitioned to list the polar bear as an endangered species in 2005, decried the assertion in the Alaska suit that science does not prove polar bear populations are declining. The center is also suing the federal government, seeking to change the polar bear's official status from "threatened" to "endangered." "The amazing thing about this litigation is that the governor of Alaska is so anti-environmental that she is suing the Bush administration over a claimed overabundance of protections for the polar bear," Siegel said. "It's just amazing."
Palin chose the grizzly bear over the polar bear and other candidates for the state's commemorative quarter, which was released into circulation Tuesday.
There are now at least four federal lawsuits challenging aspects of the polar bear listing. In addition to the suits filed by Alaska, the industry groups and the Center for Biological Diversity, the trophy-hunting group Safari Club International filed suit opposing a federal ban on importing skins or other "trophies" of polar bears killed in Canada.
Siegel said the Alaska and industry lawsuits opposing the listing mean they are worried that the special rule meant to prevent action on greenhouse gases won't hold up in the long run.
"I think it shows the strength of our legal theory," she said. "Basically we said, 'List the polar bear, and when you list the polar bear, you're going to have to do something about greenhouse gas emissions.' The fact all these other parties are suing over it shows the Bush administration doesn't have a legal leg to stand on -- they know the administration has to do something about greenhouse gas emissions."
The lawsuit is American Petroleum Institute et al v. Kempthorne et al.
Michael Moore's Blopper: CLICK ON TV GUY TO THE LEFT
WATCH THE VIDEO ON TV GUY
Filmmaker Michael Moore chortles over the possibility of a major hurricane hitting the Gulf Coast during the Republican convention. He’s supposed to be a funny guy so maybe he’s kidding.
Sound Bite
“I was just thinking this Gustav is proof that there is a God in heaven . . . that it would actually be on its way to New Orleans for day one of the Republican Convention, up in the Twin Cities – at the top of the Mississippi River.”
THE ALWAYS SOMETHING TO WATCH ON TV GUY!
Getting the MOST FOR YOUR BUCK: Hamburger
BUY
Buy only what is ground in your store, that day. Save money by buying late in the day. Buy it on the way home when you need it and use almost the same amount of gas during the week.
All the stories you read about food poisoning is with PRE-Processed Hamburger that is done in a plant in another state and shipped to your store. The grinding processes increases the surface area on the beef and that increases the chances of bacteria growth: you can wash a slab of beef, you can not wash hamburger. Buy and cook the same day or the NEXT day for the same reasons. Fill it on sale and freeze in a double zip lock bag the SAME day.
FAT
As must as we'd all love to stay lean, burger meat is not the place to skimp on juicy, flavorful fat. Go for 80/20 or 70/30 (that's the lean/fat ratio) beef rather than 90/10, and don't fret too much; most of the excess fat drains off during cooking.
HANDLE LESS
You're not making a meatloaf, so you don't need to over-form your patties. Handle the meat as little as possible -- just loosely forming patties, and not compressing the meat. They'll cook more evenly and allow juices to flow.
COOKING
Get out your Foreman Grill! It cooks on both sides, it gently presses out the fat, and it is medium heat. While it's wonderful to have a nice sear on the outside, a too-hot grill will char the outside of the patty while leaving the inside uncooked. Start with a medium flame. Flip'em ONCE. Bake'em in foil like mini meatloaf. Crock as meatballs. Be creative... send me your recipes! freddallas@aol.com
THINK OUTSIDE THE BUN
Salad Burger on the plate. Wrap it in a carb balanced, tortilla. Why not use sliced bread?
TREAT YOUR DOG
Worried about your waist or waste? Hey, look down here!
Buy only what is ground in your store, that day. Save money by buying late in the day. Buy it on the way home when you need it and use almost the same amount of gas during the week.
All the stories you read about food poisoning is with PRE-Processed Hamburger that is done in a plant in another state and shipped to your store. The grinding processes increases the surface area on the beef and that increases the chances of bacteria growth: you can wash a slab of beef, you can not wash hamburger. Buy and cook the same day or the NEXT day for the same reasons. Fill it on sale and freeze in a double zip lock bag the SAME day.
FAT
As must as we'd all love to stay lean, burger meat is not the place to skimp on juicy, flavorful fat. Go for 80/20 or 70/30 (that's the lean/fat ratio) beef rather than 90/10, and don't fret too much; most of the excess fat drains off during cooking.
HANDLE LESS
You're not making a meatloaf, so you don't need to over-form your patties. Handle the meat as little as possible -- just loosely forming patties, and not compressing the meat. They'll cook more evenly and allow juices to flow.
COOKING
Get out your Foreman Grill! It cooks on both sides, it gently presses out the fat, and it is medium heat. While it's wonderful to have a nice sear on the outside, a too-hot grill will char the outside of the patty while leaving the inside uncooked. Start with a medium flame. Flip'em ONCE. Bake'em in foil like mini meatloaf. Crock as meatballs. Be creative... send me your recipes! freddallas@aol.com
THINK OUTSIDE THE BUN
Salad Burger on the plate. Wrap it in a carb balanced, tortilla. Why not use sliced bread?
TREAT YOUR DOG
Worried about your waist or waste? Hey, look down here!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Can it happen again in New Orleans?
http://www.nola.com/katrina/pages/
Folks, tonight I am reading that officials in New Orleans have issued a mandatory evacuation.
My thoughts and prayers will be with them tonight and tomorrow as this storm moves in.
FD
Folks, tonight I am reading that officials in New Orleans have issued a mandatory evacuation.
My thoughts and prayers will be with them tonight and tomorrow as this storm moves in.
FD
OK. I have read enough about Sarah "Baracuda" Palin
If you don't who she is by now, you have not been reading this blogg and should look over earlier postings....
In this April 23, 2008 file photo, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, left, and her husband, Todd Palin, hold their baby boy Trig in Anchorage, Alaska. The Palin's fifth child was born with Down syndrome, a genetic abnormality that impedes physical, intellectual and language development. She made a choice to have him. She has four other children, including Track Palin, her 19-year-old son, who is going to Iraqi with the National Guard in September. She is the poster Mom for the Pro-life Supporters in USa today. (AP Photo/Al Grillo)
She is a NOT a feminist nazi. She is a self-proclaimed "hockey mom" who has five children and became involved in politics.
McCain signaled the Social Conservative Religious Pro-Live voters that he would appoint Conservative, PRO-LIFE Supreme Court Justices and is willing and able to put Marriage as a Man and Woman and Citizenship rights to a Fetus into our Constitution.
She kept her pregnancy a secret when running for Governor of Alaska. It was a BIG SURPRISE when she gave birth to Trig, as Governor. Blogs and Media in Alaska wrote about it for months after the rumor and then the birth of Trig.
In this April 23, 2008 file photo, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, left, and her husband, Todd Palin, hold their baby boy Trig in Anchorage, Alaska. The Palin's fifth child was born with Down syndrome, a genetic abnormality that impedes physical, intellectual and language development. She made a choice to have him. She has four other children, including Track Palin, her 19-year-old son, who is going to Iraqi with the National Guard in September. She is the poster Mom for the Pro-life Supporters in USa today. (AP Photo/Al Grillo)FD:
It is time for me to decide is this is a game changer for myself. NOPE. I voting for Obama/Biden.
If you are undecided, you have to ask yourself "what does this choice by McCain mean for all the other cabinet, judges, and administrative appointments he is to make as president?"
As a political pun-dent, you are asking "what voters does she get for McCain that he did not already have?" or "does this take any voting groups away from Obama?"
Sarah Palin was a good V.P. choice for McCain.
McCain has put a woman in the running to become the First Female Vice President, and because he is 72 this MIGHT give Palin a shot at becoming the First Female President in the NEXT four years.
She is a NOT a feminist nazi. She is a self-proclaimed "hockey mom" who has five children and became involved in politics.
She says she is PRO-LIFE. Very religious. PRO-Marriage. Gun owner and member of the NRA, with a love of hunting and cooking moose burgers and moose stew.
McCain signaled the Social Conservative Religious Pro-Live voters that he would appoint Conservative, PRO-LIFE Supreme Court Justices and is willing and able to put Marriage as a Man and Woman and Citizenship rights to a Fetus into our Constitution.
Palin is PRO-Life and made a decision NOT to terminate her pregnancy when she learned that her baby boy would be born with Down's Syndrome. That baby was born and named Trig Palin.
She kept her pregnancy a secret when running for Governor of Alaska. It was a BIG SURPRISE when she gave birth to Trig, as Governor. Blogs and Media in Alaska wrote about it for months after the rumor and then the birth of Trig.She had a CHOICE to give birth to her baby.
She made a decision to have a baby. She has a son going to Bush's War and maybe another baby was an attempt to have a son if one died.
All women should have the right to make a choice about their pregnancy,That is PRO-CHOICE, folks. She had a right to decide for herself.
McCain selected Palin as proof of his reformalist credentials. He sees himself as a Maverick in the GOP.
Governor Sarah Palin has the reputation as being a Republican reformer who forced out a Republican Governor out of office and when Congress offered Alaska the "bridge to nowhere " Gov Palin said "Thanks but no thanks. If Alaska wants a bridge we will build it." This fits McCain's Fat Cutting, Maverick reputation.
Sarah Palin is just a politician. She stopped being a "hockey mom" when she was elected and took office as mayor and then governor...
http://www.mattbors.com/2006_08_01_borsblog.html
In the meantime, here is a cover for the Anchorage Press. Sarah Palin is the Republican candidate for Governor and almost assured a victory. There is a GOP backlash against her however, because she is running on one of those "reformer against all corruption" platforms.
In the meantime, here is a cover for the Anchorage Press. Sarah Palin is the Republican candidate for Governor and almost assured a victory. There is a GOP backlash against her however, because she is running on one of those "reformer against all corruption" platforms.
and like a lot of politicians, she is now under investigation for abuse of her office:
"Alaska Lawmakers will hire someone within a week to investigate whether Governor Sarah Palin abused her power in firing Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. The legislative council approved 100,000 dollars for the investigation that will find out whether Palin was angry at Monegan for not firing an Alaska State Trooper who went through a messy divorce with Palin's sister. "
Palin has been given the opportunity to move up from the minor league to the BIG SHOW. She is very competitive. Like many politicians, she wants to be President of the United States.
If McCain wins, she wins. And that puts her that much closer to being President.
In these terms, McCain/Palin is a Win-Win for the GOP.
To quote McCain's mother: "They will just have to hold their nose and vote for you."
She is quite a woman herself.
Notice the deer in the back.
(She shot it.)
Lots of women are going to vote for McCain/Palin.
"Sometimes you just have to "put up with men" to get what you want you want," was the way my barber put it while I was getting my haircut. "Women work just as hard as men do, but we don't get the same pay or the same respect... she is not one of those feminist nuts like 'what's her name' (Jane Fonda)... she is good people."
This race has gotten tighter, and a lot harder for the Obama/Biden ticket. McCain's choice of Sarah Palin changed how this race is run; but that is NOT REAL CHANGE, McCain is STILL MORE OF THE SAME .
Post Script: McCain is also making a pitch to male voters with his choice. I noticed a lot of stuff that was summed up by the bumper sticker:
Alaska. Coldest Weather. Hottest Governor!
McCain seems to be stuck in male adolescence, always trying to be "Man's Man" or maybe it is just "Bond. James Bond."
Sarah Palin seems to have a strong appeal to guys. Let's face it: she was a runner up for Miss Alaska. She loves guns and THE DUDE.
Guns and Sex are a powerful combination to a lot of males that is why we find it in movies and video games.
Goodnight, Folks!
FD
MoveOn.org: Who is Sarah Palin? (with citations for their claims..)
Dear MoveOn member,
[ FD: Actually, I am not a member of moveon.org , but I read their stuff.]
Yesterday was John McCain's 72nd birthday. If elected, he'd be the oldest president ever inaugurated. And after months of slamming Barack Obama for "inexperience," here's who John McCain has chosen to be one heartbeat away from the presidency: a right-wing religious conservative with no foreign policy experience, who until recently was mayor of a town of 9,000 people.
Who is Sarah Palin? Here's some basic background:
She was elected Alaska's governor a little over a year and a half ago.
Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage.
She has no foreign policy experience.1
Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest.2
She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000. 3
Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.4
She's doesn't think humans are the cause of climate change.5
She's solidly in line with John McCain's "Big Oil first" energy policy.
She's pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables won't be ready for years.
She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska.6
How closely did John McCain vet this choice?
He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting.
They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president.
Then he offered her the position.7
This is information the American people need to see.
Please take a moment to forward this email to your friends and family.
We also asked Alaska MoveOn members what the rest of us should know about their governor. The response was striking. Here's a sample:
She is really just a mayor from a small town outside Anchorage who has been a governor for only 1.5 years, and has ZERO national and international experience. I shudder to think that she could be the person taking that 3AM call on the White House hotline, and the one who could potentially be charged with leading the US in the volatile international scene that exists today. —Rose M., Fairbanks, AK
She is VERY, VERY conservative, and far from perfect. She's a hunter and fisherwoman, but votes against the environment again and again. She ran on ethics reform, but is currently under investigation for several charges involving hiring and firing of state officials. She has NO experience beyond Alaska. —Christine B., Denali Park, AK
As an Alaskan and a feminist, I am beyond words at this announcement. Palin is not a feminist, and she is not the reformer she claims to be. —Karen L., Anchorage, AK
Alaskans, collectively, are just as stunned as the rest of the nation. She is doing well running our State, but is totally inexperienced on the national level, and very much unequipped to run the nation, if it came to that. She is as far right as one can get, which has already been communicated on the news. In our office of thirty employees (dems, republicans, and nonpartisans), not one person feels she is ready for the V.P. position.—Sherry C., Anchorage, AK
She's vehemently anti-choice and doesn't care about protecting our natural resources, even though she has worked as a fisherman. McCain chose her to pick up the Hillary voters, but Palin is no Hillary. —Marina L., Juneau, AK
I think she's far too inexperienced to be in this position. I'm all for a woman in the White House, but not one who hasn't done anything to deserve it. There are far many other women who have worked their way up and have much more experience that would have been better choices. This is a patronizing decision on John McCain's part- and insulting to females everywhere that he would assume he'll get our vote by putting "A Woman" in that position.—Jennifer M., Anchorage, AK
So Governor Palin is a staunch anti-choice religious conservative. She's a global warming denier who shares John McCain's commitment to Big Oil. And she's dramatically inexperienced.
In picking Sarah Palin, John McCain has made the religious right very happy. And he's made a very dangerous decision for our country.
In the next few days, many Americans will be wondering what McCain's vice-presidential choice means. Please pass this information along to your friends and family.
Thanks for all you do.
–Ilyse, Noah, Justin, Karin and the rest of the MoveOn.org team
Sources:
1. "Sarah Palin," Wikipedia, Accessed August 29, 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin
2. "McCain Selects Anti-Choice Sarah Palin as Running Mate," NARAL Pro-Choice America, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17515&id=13661-10335180-k_js5Ex&t=1
3. "Sarah Palin, Buchananite," The Nation, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17736&id=13661-10335180-k_js5Ex&t=2
4. "'Creation science' enters the race," Anchorage Daily News, October 27, 2006 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17737&id=13661-10335180-k_js5Ex&t=3
5. "Palin buys climate denial PR spin—ignores science," Huffington Post, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17517&id=13661-10335180-k_js5Ex&t=4
6. "McCain VP Pick Completes Shift to Bush Energy Policy," Sierra Club, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17518&id=13661-10335180-k_js5Ex&t=5
"Choice of Palin Promises Failed Energy Policies of the Past," League of Conservation Voters, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17519&id=13661-10335180-k_js5Ex&t=6
"Protecting polar bears gets in way of drilling for oil, says governor," The Times of London, May 23, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17520&id=13661-10335180-k_js5Ex&t=7
7 "McCain met Palin once before yesterday," MSNBC, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=21119&id=13661-10335180-k_js5Ex&t=8
Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 3.2 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.
[ FD: Actually, I am not a member of moveon.org , but I read their stuff.]
Yesterday was John McCain's 72nd birthday. If elected, he'd be the oldest president ever inaugurated. And after months of slamming Barack Obama for "inexperience," here's who John McCain has chosen to be one heartbeat away from the presidency: a right-wing religious conservative with no foreign policy experience, who until recently was mayor of a town of 9,000 people.
Who is Sarah Palin? Here's some basic background:
She was elected Alaska's governor a little over a year and a half ago.
Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage.
She has no foreign policy experience.1
Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest.2
She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000. 3
Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.4
She's doesn't think humans are the cause of climate change.5
She's solidly in line with John McCain's "Big Oil first" energy policy.
She's pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables won't be ready for years.
She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska.6
How closely did John McCain vet this choice?
He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting.
They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president.
Then he offered her the position.7
This is information the American people need to see.
Please take a moment to forward this email to your friends and family.
We also asked Alaska MoveOn members what the rest of us should know about their governor. The response was striking. Here's a sample:
She is really just a mayor from a small town outside Anchorage who has been a governor for only 1.5 years, and has ZERO national and international experience. I shudder to think that she could be the person taking that 3AM call on the White House hotline, and the one who could potentially be charged with leading the US in the volatile international scene that exists today. —Rose M., Fairbanks, AK
She is VERY, VERY conservative, and far from perfect. She's a hunter and fisherwoman, but votes against the environment again and again. She ran on ethics reform, but is currently under investigation for several charges involving hiring and firing of state officials. She has NO experience beyond Alaska. —Christine B., Denali Park, AK
As an Alaskan and a feminist, I am beyond words at this announcement. Palin is not a feminist, and she is not the reformer she claims to be. —Karen L., Anchorage, AK
Alaskans, collectively, are just as stunned as the rest of the nation. She is doing well running our State, but is totally inexperienced on the national level, and very much unequipped to run the nation, if it came to that. She is as far right as one can get, which has already been communicated on the news. In our office of thirty employees (dems, republicans, and nonpartisans), not one person feels she is ready for the V.P. position.—Sherry C., Anchorage, AK
She's vehemently anti-choice and doesn't care about protecting our natural resources, even though she has worked as a fisherman. McCain chose her to pick up the Hillary voters, but Palin is no Hillary. —Marina L., Juneau, AK
I think she's far too inexperienced to be in this position. I'm all for a woman in the White House, but not one who hasn't done anything to deserve it. There are far many other women who have worked their way up and have much more experience that would have been better choices. This is a patronizing decision on John McCain's part- and insulting to females everywhere that he would assume he'll get our vote by putting "A Woman" in that position.—Jennifer M., Anchorage, AK
So Governor Palin is a staunch anti-choice religious conservative. She's a global warming denier who shares John McCain's commitment to Big Oil. And she's dramatically inexperienced.
In picking Sarah Palin, John McCain has made the religious right very happy. And he's made a very dangerous decision for our country.
In the next few days, many Americans will be wondering what McCain's vice-presidential choice means. Please pass this information along to your friends and family.
Thanks for all you do.
–Ilyse, Noah, Justin, Karin and the rest of the MoveOn.org team
Sources:
1. "Sarah Palin," Wikipedia, Accessed August 29, 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin
2. "McCain Selects Anti-Choice Sarah Palin as Running Mate," NARAL Pro-Choice America, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17515&id=13661-10335180-k_js5Ex&t=1
3. "Sarah Palin, Buchananite," The Nation, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17736&id=13661-10335180-k_js5Ex&t=2
4. "'Creation science' enters the race," Anchorage Daily News, October 27, 2006 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17737&id=13661-10335180-k_js5Ex&t=3
5. "Palin buys climate denial PR spin—ignores science," Huffington Post, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17517&id=13661-10335180-k_js5Ex&t=4
6. "McCain VP Pick Completes Shift to Bush Energy Policy," Sierra Club, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17518&id=13661-10335180-k_js5Ex&t=5
"Choice of Palin Promises Failed Energy Policies of the Past," League of Conservation Voters, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17519&id=13661-10335180-k_js5Ex&t=6
"Protecting polar bears gets in way of drilling for oil, says governor," The Times of London, May 23, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17520&id=13661-10335180-k_js5Ex&t=7
7 "McCain met Palin once before yesterday," MSNBC, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=21119&id=13661-10335180-k_js5Ex&t=8
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Evangelicals energized by McCain-Palin ticket
By ERIC GORSKI – AP NewswireSarah Palin already has energized conservative religious leaders who had fretted that John McCain would pick an abortion rights supporter as his running mate. The Alaska governor was raised in a Pentecostal church and has called herself "as pro-life as any candidate can be."
To Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religion Liberties Commission, Palin is "straight out of veep central casting." Land said he had urged the McCain camp to consider the political unknown.
Gary Bauer, one of McCain's most enthusiastic evangelical supporters, said the Arizona senator had hit a "grand slam home run" and that adding Palin to the GOP ticket is "guaranteed to energize values voters."
The 44-year-old mother of five, who led her high school chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, was baptized as a teenager at the Wasilla Assembly of God Church, where she and her family were very active, according to her then-pastor, Paul Riley.
She now sometimes worships at the Juneau Christian Center, which is also part of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God, said Brad Kesler, business administrator of the denomination's Alaska District. But her home church is The Church on the Rock, an independent congregation, Riley said.
"The church was kind of a foundation for her," said Riley, who said he gave the invocation at Palin's inauguration and had her address students at the church last month.
Maria Comella, a spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin campaign, said Palin attends different churches and does not consider herself Pentecostal.
As a politician, Palin has sided with the majority evangelical view in opposing gay marriage and expressing a desire to see creationism discussed alongside evolution in schools.
During a 2006 debate, she said she was a proponent of teaching both evolution and creationism in schools. She later clarified her stance in an interview with the Anchorage Daily News, saying that she doesn't think creationism needed to be part of the curriculum and that she would not push the state Board of Education to add such alternatives to the state's required curriculum.
Not only does Palin oppose abortion as a matter of policy, but she chose to give birth to her youngest child, a son, after a prenatal exam indicated Down syndrome. Studies show that about nine in 10 pregnant women who are given a Down syndrome diagnosis have chosen to have an abortion.
"That will resonate in a big way," said Quin Monson, a Brigham Young University professor who studies religion and politics.
Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, who initially said he could not vote for McCain but has since opened the door to an endorsement, called Palin "an outstanding choice that should be extremely reassuring to the conservative base" of the GOP. Dobson added that the ticket "gives us confidence he will keep his pledges to voters regarding the kinds of justices he would nominate to the Supreme Court."
"It's an absolutely brilliant choice," said Mathew Staver, dean of Liberty University School of Law. "This will absolutely energize McCain's campaign and energize conservatives."
Staver called Palin a "a woman of faith who has a strong position on life, a consistent opinion on judges. ... She's the complete package."
A Pew poll last week showed McCain leading Democrat Barack Obama 68 percent to 24 percent among white evangelical Protestants. But there was little enthusiasm: Only 28 percent of white evangelicals call themselves "strong" supporters of McCain, far short of President Bush's numbers four years ago.
Many evangelical leaders said McCain helped himself with a solid performance at Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Church, where McCain proclaimed, "I will be a pro-life president."
Mark Silk, who specializes in religion and politics at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., cautioned that while evangelical leaders are praising the Palin pick, it might not necessarily trickle down.
"The question is how this will be received by a lot of rank-and-file evangelicals who are just Americans struggling along, going to their megachurches, and care about values," Silk said.
Some question whether old-guard traditional leaders, like Dobson, hold as much influence as in the past. The evangelical establishment never warmed to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's candidacy, but grass-roots evangelicals contributed to his big win in the Iowa primaries.
Evangelical leaders got worried when McCain floated the possibility of a vice presidential candidate who supports abortion rights, including Sen. Joe Lieberman or former Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge.
By choosing Palin, "McCain is saying to social and religious conservatives, 'I'm taking your views incredibly seriously,'" said Michael Cromartie, director of the evangelical studies program at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington
There is Nothing Wrong with the RIGHT Woman Vice President.
Another one of our Western reporters in a RED state sent me this comment:
I think Palin really shows that McCain is a great strategist and shows his great judgement.
He managed to step on Obama's expensive, contrived convention. Stop his bounce and force the liberal media to really report on what he is doing in his campaign.
McCain's selection of a REAL "change" VP candidate makes Obama's speech obsolete:
McCain is not a continuation of Bush.
Her "limited experience" has something to show, not like Obama's. She has REAL experience as a mayor, a governor and political reformer. Obama's so called "ethics work a cross the aisle" shows that though he initially participated, he abandoned the work to vote against what the committee put together.
Palin unlike Bidden is not a hypocrite. She is a true Roman Catholic in her practice not in name only like Bidden and Pelosi (who both recently were in trouble with their church for not following the Church doctrine.) The liberal media failed to report it!
Bidden says that since he doesn't spend the night in Washington, he is not a part of Washington? Doesn't make much since to me, and it is not going to make since to anyone else.
With a REAL Social Conservative and Roman Catholic in Sarah Palin, you are going to see in November a major turn out for McCain/Palin by Catholics and Evangelicals, including the Hispanic vote that Obama has lost when he did not pick Hillary or Richardson as Vice President.
McCain has gutted Obama like a fish... Obama is losing major voting blocks with McCain's selection of the RIGHT woman for Vice President.
I think Palin really shows that McCain is a great strategist and shows his great judgement.
He managed to step on Obama's expensive, contrived convention. Stop his bounce and force the liberal media to really report on what he is doing in his campaign.
McCain's selection of a REAL "change" VP candidate makes Obama's speech obsolete:
McCain is not a continuation of Bush.
Her "limited experience" has something to show, not like Obama's. She has REAL experience as a mayor, a governor and political reformer. Obama's so called "ethics work a cross the aisle" shows that though he initially participated, he abandoned the work to vote against what the committee put together.
Palin unlike Bidden is not a hypocrite. She is a true Roman Catholic in her practice not in name only like Bidden and Pelosi (who both recently were in trouble with their church for not following the Church doctrine.) The liberal media failed to report it!
Bidden says that since he doesn't spend the night in Washington, he is not a part of Washington? Doesn't make much since to me, and it is not going to make since to anyone else.
With a REAL Social Conservative and Roman Catholic in Sarah Palin, you are going to see in November a major turn out for McCain/Palin by Catholics and Evangelicals, including the Hispanic vote that Obama has lost when he did not pick Hillary or Richardson as Vice President.
McCain has gutted Obama like a fish... Obama is losing major voting blocks with McCain's selection of the RIGHT woman for Vice President.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Again with the 60-40 reponse...
AOL online Poll Results (Interesting... but a bit useless.)
Will Palin's addition to the ticket affect your vote? (Which way?)
No 61% 314,688
Yes 39% 202,216
How much did you know about Palin before the announcement? (Ok. Read my Blogg ...)
Nothing 71%
A little 26%
A lot 3%
Total Votes: 525,763
Note on Poll Results
Will Palin's addition to the ticket affect your vote? (Which way?)
No 61% 314,688
Yes 39% 202,216
How much did you know about Palin before the announcement? (Ok. Read my Blogg ...)
Nothing 71%
A little 26%
A lot 3%
Total Votes: 525,763
Note on Poll Results
McCain’s ‘Hail Sarah’ Pass: McCain Likes the Big Gamble Play
FD: I have a theory that we have Obama the poker player up against McCain the Craps player in this race - strategy vs. tactics. Intelligent reasoning vs. "Right Stuff" fighter pilot love of danger. This was always going to be close, but this race is not going to be dull. This pairing is like having an Old dog and Young dog on a coon hunt in the middle of the night... the racoon is going and the hunters like will never know what is going on out there in the dark.
Here is some conventional wisdom for your consideration:
McCain’s ‘Hail Sarah’ Pass
His choice for veep is all but set up for failure in the fall.
Jonathan Alter
Newsweek Web Exclusive
Updated: 5:18 PM ET Aug 29, 2008
Happy birthday, Johnny Mac!
You're 72 now, a cancer survivor, and a presidential candidate who has said on many occasions that the most important criteria for picking a vice president is whether he or she could immediately step in if something happened to the president. Your campaign against Barack Obama is based on the simple idea that he is unready to be president. So you've picked a running mate who a year and a half ago was the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, a town of 8,500 people. You've selected a potential leader of the free world who knows little or nothing about the major issues of the day beyond energy. Oh, and she's being probed in her state for lying and abuse of power.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's debut in Dayton on Friday was good political theater. She delivered a pitch-perfect speech (presumably written by McCain's ghost writer, Mark Salter) with a panache that suggests she could be a natural on the national stage. The well-kept secret of her selection let the GOP step on the story of Obama's boffo acceptance speech in Denver. It's not hard to see why she appealed to McCain: her middle-class roots; her older son headed for Iraq with the U.S. Army; her opposition to the earmarked "bridge to nowhere," which is arguably the only domestic issue that gets McCain excited. If camera-ready Palin helps McCain close the gender gap and win in November, she'll be history's hockey mom.
But there's a reason that rookies rarely score hat tricks.
It's not her lack of name recognition; America loves a fresh face, especially one that's a cross between a Fox anchor and a character on "Northern Exposure," the old TV show about an Alaska town about the size of Wasilla. The problem is that politics, like all professions, isn't as easy as it looks. Palin's odds of emerging unscathed this fall are slim. In fact, she's been all but set up for failure.
"What is it exactly that the vice president does all day?" Palin offhandedly asked CNBC anchor Larry Kudlow in July. Kudlow explained that the job has become more important in recent years. Palin knows the energy crisis well, even if her claim on "Charlie Rose" that Alaska's untapped resources can significantly ease it is unsupported by the facts. But what does she know about Iranian nukes, health care or the future of entitlement programs? And that's just a few of the 20 or so national issues on which she will be expected to show basic competence.
The McCain camp will have to either let her wing it based on a few briefing memos (highly risky) or prevent her from taking questions from reporters (a confession that she's unprepared). Either way, she's going to belly-flop at a time when McCain can least afford it.
Even on energy, Palin has her work cut out for her. First she has to convince McCain to do a 180 and support drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. Her much-repeated sound bite that ANWR is only the size of the Los Angeles airport and thus not environmentally destructive sounds good, but won't do much to counter the argument Obama made in his acceptance speech, which is that drilling is only a "stopgap" measure for achieving energy independence. Palin will benefit from very low expectations in her debate with Joe Biden, but she's going to have to have a photographic memory for new information to avoid getting creamed.
Governors often run for president, but only after many months of prep work on what they might confront in the White House. The last governor chosen for vice president was Spiro Agnew in 1968, and he was the governor of Maryland, which is right over the line from Washington, D.C., not thousands of miles away. Veep candidates with extensive Washington experience like Geraldine Ferraro and Dan Quayle were nonetheless grilled on policy and proved a drag on the ticket when they looked unpresidential.
I covered Ferraro in 1984 for NEWSWEEK. The day Walter Mondale chose her as the first woman candidate for high office was exciting and historic. But the Queens congresswoman was quickly swamped by tough questions (especially from Ted Koppel) about her readiness for the presidency and by ethical queries about her husband, a real-estate developer. A lengthy news conference she held to answer the mounting questions did not go well.
Reporters are already winging their way to Alaska to probe what Alaskans call "Wootengate," the story of the firing of former Public Safety commissioner Walt Monegan, who says he was pressured to dismiss state trooper Mike Wooten. Wooten was engaged in a nasty custody fight with his ex-wife, who is Palin's sister. As soon as Palin was selected, the Web was already buzzing with Monegan's claims that Palin is lying about her role in the personnel matter.
And the beautifully named Steve Branchflower, the special counsel appointed by the state legislature to probe the mess, has opened a tip line for Alaskans who might know if the governor and possible vice president of the United States abused her power.
Branchflower's investigation won't be completed until after the election, but the facts so far aren't good for the governor. Palin says she had "nothing to do" with the Wooten matter and that she fired Monegan because she wanted to move the department in another direction, but an audiotape of a phone conversation featuring another state official, Frank Bailey, casts doubt on her account.
Because the media loves scandal of any kind, especially one involving the potential use of public power to settle private family scores, this story will prove a distraction to the McCain campaign all fall long.
It's hard to know how many women will flock to the GOP ticket because of Palin, who is passionately anti-abortion. In 1984, Ronald Reagan carried 56 percent of female voters, despite Ferraro's candidacy on the Democratic side. The balance between work and family, always a ticklish issue, will be brought into bold relief by the fact that the Palins' fifth child, Trig, was born with Down syndrome in April. Todd Palin, a commercial fisherman, may shoulder the bulk of the child-rearing duties in their family.
But many voters will nonetheless wonder whether Palin should undertake the rigors of the vice presidency (and perhaps the presidency) while caring for a disabled infant. The subject will no doubt arise on "Oprah and in other venues.
One way or another, an African-American or a woman will hold high office next year for the first time. That's progress. And it's possible that Palin is so talented that she will prove to be the face of the GOP's future.
More likely, this "Hail Sarah" pass won't do much to help John McCain get into the end zone. He'll win or lose for other reasons.
URL: http://www.newsweek.com/id/156258
© 2008
Here is some conventional wisdom for your consideration:
McCain’s ‘Hail Sarah’ Pass
His choice for veep is all but set up for failure in the fall.
Jonathan Alter
Newsweek Web Exclusive
Updated: 5:18 PM ET Aug 29, 2008
Happy birthday, Johnny Mac!
You're 72 now, a cancer survivor, and a presidential candidate who has said on many occasions that the most important criteria for picking a vice president is whether he or she could immediately step in if something happened to the president. Your campaign against Barack Obama is based on the simple idea that he is unready to be president. So you've picked a running mate who a year and a half ago was the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, a town of 8,500 people. You've selected a potential leader of the free world who knows little or nothing about the major issues of the day beyond energy. Oh, and she's being probed in her state for lying and abuse of power.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's debut in Dayton on Friday was good political theater. She delivered a pitch-perfect speech (presumably written by McCain's ghost writer, Mark Salter) with a panache that suggests she could be a natural on the national stage. The well-kept secret of her selection let the GOP step on the story of Obama's boffo acceptance speech in Denver. It's not hard to see why she appealed to McCain: her middle-class roots; her older son headed for Iraq with the U.S. Army; her opposition to the earmarked "bridge to nowhere," which is arguably the only domestic issue that gets McCain excited. If camera-ready Palin helps McCain close the gender gap and win in November, she'll be history's hockey mom.
But there's a reason that rookies rarely score hat tricks.
It's not her lack of name recognition; America loves a fresh face, especially one that's a cross between a Fox anchor and a character on "Northern Exposure," the old TV show about an Alaska town about the size of Wasilla. The problem is that politics, like all professions, isn't as easy as it looks. Palin's odds of emerging unscathed this fall are slim. In fact, she's been all but set up for failure.
"What is it exactly that the vice president does all day?" Palin offhandedly asked CNBC anchor Larry Kudlow in July. Kudlow explained that the job has become more important in recent years. Palin knows the energy crisis well, even if her claim on "Charlie Rose" that Alaska's untapped resources can significantly ease it is unsupported by the facts. But what does she know about Iranian nukes, health care or the future of entitlement programs? And that's just a few of the 20 or so national issues on which she will be expected to show basic competence.
The McCain camp will have to either let her wing it based on a few briefing memos (highly risky) or prevent her from taking questions from reporters (a confession that she's unprepared). Either way, she's going to belly-flop at a time when McCain can least afford it.
Even on energy, Palin has her work cut out for her. First she has to convince McCain to do a 180 and support drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. Her much-repeated sound bite that ANWR is only the size of the Los Angeles airport and thus not environmentally destructive sounds good, but won't do much to counter the argument Obama made in his acceptance speech, which is that drilling is only a "stopgap" measure for achieving energy independence. Palin will benefit from very low expectations in her debate with Joe Biden, but she's going to have to have a photographic memory for new information to avoid getting creamed.
Governors often run for president, but only after many months of prep work on what they might confront in the White House. The last governor chosen for vice president was Spiro Agnew in 1968, and he was the governor of Maryland, which is right over the line from Washington, D.C., not thousands of miles away. Veep candidates with extensive Washington experience like Geraldine Ferraro and Dan Quayle were nonetheless grilled on policy and proved a drag on the ticket when they looked unpresidential.
I covered Ferraro in 1984 for NEWSWEEK. The day Walter Mondale chose her as the first woman candidate for high office was exciting and historic. But the Queens congresswoman was quickly swamped by tough questions (especially from Ted Koppel) about her readiness for the presidency and by ethical queries about her husband, a real-estate developer. A lengthy news conference she held to answer the mounting questions did not go well.
Reporters are already winging their way to Alaska to probe what Alaskans call "Wootengate," the story of the firing of former Public Safety commissioner Walt Monegan, who says he was pressured to dismiss state trooper Mike Wooten. Wooten was engaged in a nasty custody fight with his ex-wife, who is Palin's sister. As soon as Palin was selected, the Web was already buzzing with Monegan's claims that Palin is lying about her role in the personnel matter.
And the beautifully named Steve Branchflower, the special counsel appointed by the state legislature to probe the mess, has opened a tip line for Alaskans who might know if the governor and possible vice president of the United States abused her power.
Branchflower's investigation won't be completed until after the election, but the facts so far aren't good for the governor. Palin says she had "nothing to do" with the Wooten matter and that she fired Monegan because she wanted to move the department in another direction, but an audiotape of a phone conversation featuring another state official, Frank Bailey, casts doubt on her account.
Because the media loves scandal of any kind, especially one involving the potential use of public power to settle private family scores, this story will prove a distraction to the McCain campaign all fall long.
It's hard to know how many women will flock to the GOP ticket because of Palin, who is passionately anti-abortion. In 1984, Ronald Reagan carried 56 percent of female voters, despite Ferraro's candidacy on the Democratic side. The balance between work and family, always a ticklish issue, will be brought into bold relief by the fact that the Palins' fifth child, Trig, was born with Down syndrome in April. Todd Palin, a commercial fisherman, may shoulder the bulk of the child-rearing duties in their family.
But many voters will nonetheless wonder whether Palin should undertake the rigors of the vice presidency (and perhaps the presidency) while caring for a disabled infant. The subject will no doubt arise on "Oprah and in other venues.
One way or another, an African-American or a woman will hold high office next year for the first time. That's progress. And it's possible that Palin is so talented that she will prove to be the face of the GOP's future.
More likely, this "Hail Sarah" pass won't do much to help John McCain get into the end zone. He'll win or lose for other reasons.
URL: http://www.newsweek.com/id/156258
© 2008
A Common Computer Problem
FD: My friend in the NW files this story tonight.....
"I was having trouble with my computer. So I called Richard, the 11 year old next door whose bedroom looks like Mission Control, and asked him to come over.
Richard clicked a couple of buttons and solved the problem.
As he was walking away, I called after him, 'So, what was wrong? He replied, 'It was an ID ten T error.'
I didn't want to appear stupid, but nonetheless inquired, 'An, ID ten T error? What's that?
In case I need to fix it again.'
Richard grinned. 'Haven't you ever heard of an ID ten T error before?''
No, ‘I replied.’
'Write it down,' he said, 'and I think you'll figure it out.'
So I wrote down: I D 1 0 T
I used to like the little &*(+. "
"I was having trouble with my computer. So I called Richard, the 11 year old next door whose bedroom looks like Mission Control, and asked him to come over.
Richard clicked a couple of buttons and solved the problem.
As he was walking away, I called after him, 'So, what was wrong? He replied, 'It was an ID ten T error.'
I didn't want to appear stupid, but nonetheless inquired, 'An, ID ten T error? What's that?
In case I need to fix it again.'
Richard grinned. 'Haven't you ever heard of an ID ten T error before?''
No, ‘I replied.’
'Write it down,' he said, 'and I think you'll figure it out.'
So I wrote down: I D 1 0 T
I used to like the little &*(+. "
McCain at the Gates of Hell
but the McCain's intel is just as bad with Bush's , and he discovers that Ben Laden is not there!
Obama is looking for Ben Laden in a cave on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
McCain always had problems with directions and with that border's location especially.
Obama is looking for Ben Laden in a cave on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
McCain always had problems with directions and with that border's location especially.
Will McCain find a way out of hell? Stay tuned readers, our story continues NEXT WEEK.
FD
McKinley never saw it coming... Look out McCain!
Well. I am glad to see that the GOP has joined USa in trying to MAKE HISTORY with this race. Either way, this is one for the history books.
Since the VP is not a big deal to me, my choice has not changed. It is not McCain, which more of the SAME.
If you missed the introduction today....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/29/AR2008082901112.html
McCain Introduces Alaska Governor Palin as Running Mate
Palin Would Be the First Woman Nominated to the Ticket by the Republican Party
Republican presumptive presidential nominee John McCain announces that he has chosen first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.
» LAUNCH VIDEO PLAYER
By Robert Barnes, Michael D. Shear and William BraniginWashington Post Staff Writers Friday, August 29, 2008; 5:06 PM
DAYTON, Ohio, Aug. 29 -- Republican presumptive presidential nominee John McCain introduced first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential choice here Friday at a raucous rally before thousands of his supporters, saying she is the "running mate who can best help me shake up Washington.''
The selection of the little-known 44-year-old governor shook up the presidential race as well. It was a startling choice that McCain said would reinforce his reputation as a maverick but that Democrats quickly criticized as not meeting McCain's stated goal of picking someone who would be ready to assume the presidency at a moment's notice.
"She's got the grit, integrity, good sense and fierce devotion to the common good that is exactly what we need in Washington today,'' McCain said. "She knows where she comes from, and she knows who she works for.''
Palin (pronounced PAY-lin) was poised in her first turn on the national stage, and she left no doubt that being the first woman named to the Republican ticket would be part of her appeal.
She mentioned former Democratic vice presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro, as well Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), who sought to become the nation's first woman president but lost the Democratic nomination to Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.).
"It was rightly noted in Denver this week that Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America,'' Palin said. "But it turns out the women of America aren't finished yet, and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all.''
Obama's campaign seemed as startled by the choice as anyone.
As soon as the McCain campaign made it official, Obama spokesman Bill Burton put out this statement: "Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency. Governor Palin shares John McCain's commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade, the agenda of Big Oil and continuing George Bush's failed economic policies -- that's not the change we need, it's just more of the same."
An hour and a half later, Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), issued a congratulatory statement that called the choice "yet another encouraging sign that old barriers are falling in our politics."
Obama subsequently told reporters while campaigning in Pennsylvania that he has never met Palin but that "she seems like a compelling person . . . with a terrific personal story." He dismissed his campaign's initial statement about Palin that criticized her inexperience, saying that campaigns tend to get "hair triggers" and that the statement he and Biden issued "reflects our sentiments."
Obama also said: "I'm sure that she will help make the case for Republicans. Unfortunately the case is more of the same, and so ultimately John McCain is at the top of the ticket. He wants to take the country in the wrong direction. I'm assuming Governor Palin agrees with him and his policies."
President Bush said in a statement that McCain made "an exciting decision" in choosing Palin, calling her "a proven reformer" and "champion of accountability in government."
McCain Introduces Alaska Governor Palin as Running Mate
Palin Would Be the First Woman Nominated to the Ticket by the Republican Party
Republican presumptive presidential nominee John McCain announces that he has chosen first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.
» LAUNCH VIDEO PLAYER
By Robert Barnes, Michael D. Shear and William BraniginWashington Post Staff Writers Friday, August 29, 2008; 5:06 PM
DAYTON, Ohio, Aug. 29 -- Republican presumptive presidential nominee John McCain introduced first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential choice here Friday at a raucous rally before thousands of his supporters, saying she is the "running mate who can best help me shake up Washington.''
The selection of the little-known 44-year-old governor shook up the presidential race as well. It was a startling choice that McCain said would reinforce his reputation as a maverick but that Democrats quickly criticized as not meeting McCain's stated goal of picking someone who would be ready to assume the presidency at a moment's notice.
"She's got the grit, integrity, good sense and fierce devotion to the common good that is exactly what we need in Washington today,'' McCain said. "She knows where she comes from, and she knows who she works for.''
Palin (pronounced PAY-lin) was poised in her first turn on the national stage, and she left no doubt that being the first woman named to the Republican ticket would be part of her appeal.
She mentioned former Democratic vice presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro, as well Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), who sought to become the nation's first woman president but lost the Democratic nomination to Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.).
"It was rightly noted in Denver this week that Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America,'' Palin said. "But it turns out the women of America aren't finished yet, and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all.''
Obama's campaign seemed as startled by the choice as anyone.
As soon as the McCain campaign made it official, Obama spokesman Bill Burton put out this statement: "Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency. Governor Palin shares John McCain's commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade, the agenda of Big Oil and continuing George Bush's failed economic policies -- that's not the change we need, it's just more of the same."
An hour and a half later, Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), issued a congratulatory statement that called the choice "yet another encouraging sign that old barriers are falling in our politics."
Obama subsequently told reporters while campaigning in Pennsylvania that he has never met Palin but that "she seems like a compelling person . . . with a terrific personal story." He dismissed his campaign's initial statement about Palin that criticized her inexperience, saying that campaigns tend to get "hair triggers" and that the statement he and Biden issued "reflects our sentiments."
Obama also said: "I'm sure that she will help make the case for Republicans. Unfortunately the case is more of the same, and so ultimately John McCain is at the top of the ticket. He wants to take the country in the wrong direction. I'm assuming Governor Palin agrees with him and his policies."
President Bush said in a statement that McCain made "an exciting decision" in choosing Palin, calling her "a proven reformer" and "champion of accountability in government."
Interesting Birthday Surprise... Who is She?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_PalinFD: I am going to put some the highlights below. Wiki text content changes as different authors and groups struggle with the text.
Time's Take on the Selection:
Why McCain Picked Palin
Friday, Aug. 29, 2008 By MICHAEL GRUNWALD AND JAY NEWTON-SMALL
Brian Wallace / Juneau Empire / AP
John McCain needs to persuade swing voters that he's willing to take on the Republican establishment. He needs to persuade conservatives that he isn't squishy about social issues. And he needs to close the gender gap. When you think about it, the real surprise about Sarah Palin's selection as his running mate is that it's such a
Palin may be an obscure 44-year-old first-term governor and mother of five from Wasilla, Alaska, but in many ways she reinforces John McCain's narrative. She's risen to power by battling corruption in her own state's Republican establishment, exposing misconduct by the state GOP chairman and challenging the incumbent GOP governor.
She's pro-life in practice as well as in theory; she recently gave birth to a son that she knew would have Down Syndrome. She'll be the first woman on a Republican ticket, which could appeal to Hillary Clinton voters and help reduce Barack Obama's advantage among women.
Her son is about to deploy to Iraq. She's an ice fisherman, a moose hunter and a lifetime NRA member. She killed her state's pork-laden Bridge to Nowhere that McCain has ridiculed on the trail. She's a fresh face to counteract Obama's message of change.
One more point in her favor: In the topsy-turvy election of 2008, the Last Frontier is actually a battleground state—and Palin is Alaska's most popular politician.
There are, of course, real risks to the choice. Palin's presence will make it awkward for McCain to harp on Obama's inexperience, much less play that attack-dog role herself.She's only served as governor one month longer than Obama's been running for president, and she's argued that her youth helped her clean out corruption in Juneau, echoing an Obama talking point.
"The age issue, I think, was more significant in my career than the gender issue; your resume isn't as fat as your opponent's, that kind of thing," Palin told TIME last month. "I don't have 30 years of political experience under my belt but that's a good thing. I've never been part of a good-ol'-boys club."
Still, it's a long leap from the Wasilla city council to the White House, and the top consideration for any candidate for the number-two job is readiness for the number-one job, an issue that may weigh more on voters' minds when the potential number one is 72 years old.
And Palin has not always seen eye to eye with McCain. Her strong support for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will contrast with McCain's muted opposition, and though she has no foreign policy experience, she has criticized the lack of a long-term plan for Iraq. She also surprised her state's conservatives by vetoing a bill that would have denied state benefits to same-sex couples.
Her profile as a good government crusader may not be such an easy sell, either. She was endorsed in an ad by Senator Ted Stevens, who is now under indictment, and she faces an investigation into the firing of her public safety commissioner; there have been allegations that she sacked him because he refused to fire a state trooper who's involved in a custody battle with her sister.
Palin certainly does have an unconventional profile for a national politician. She won Miss Wasilla in 1984 and competed in the Miss Alaska contest. She's worked as a TV sports announcer.Her husband, Todd Palin, is part native Eskimo and a champion snowmobiler; he's known in Alaska as the First Dude.
But politically, in a year where the Republican brand is so tarnished, Palin will help McCain make the case that he's a different kind of Republican. It might be his best shot to be America's First Dude.
FD: I attempted to put some more family photos up, but you might want to visit the blogg below for more candids of the candidate and her family, including The Dude.
http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com/2008/03/hillary-clintons-evisceration-of-obama.html
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FD: I noticed this on Alaska bloggs....
Alaska Politics
This is the place to talk about Alaska politics -- state, local, national. Public life in the Last Frontier may never have been more interesting than right now -- the broad and still-evolving corruption investigation, a big election, a popular governor, powerful members of Congress under scrutiny, and the usual hardball Alaska politics. Come here for news, tidbits and information, and join the discussion. Keep your comments civil and on point. Avoid personal attacks. Do not use profanity. Posts that violate the Terms of Use will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be banned.
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Sarah Louise Palin (IPA: /peɪlɪn/; born February 11, 1964) is the governor of Alaska, and the presumptive Republican vice presidential nominee for the November 2008 election.
Palin was elected governor in 2006 after defeating incumbent governor Frank Murkowski in the Republican primary and former Democratic governor Tony Knowles in the general election. She was the youngest person, and the first woman, to be elected governor of Alaska. She gained attention for publicizing ethical violations by state Republican Party leaders. Before becoming governor, Palin served two terms on the Wasilla, Alaska, City Council from 1992 to 1996, was elected mayor of Wasilla in 1996. She also ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2002.
Palin holds an undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Idaho.
On August 29, 2008, Republican presidential candidate John McCain made the historic[2][3] [4]choice of picking Palin to serve as his running mate. She will be the first female vice presidential candidate of the Republican Party and the second female vice presidential candidate representing a major political party. She will also be the first politician from Alaska to run on a national ticket in a campaign for president or vice president.
Early life
Palin was born Sarah Louise Heath in Sandpoint, Idaho, the daughter of Sarah (née Sheeran), a school secretary, and Charles R. Heath, a science teacher and track coach.[5][6] She has English, Irish, and German ancestry.[5] Her family moved to Alaska when she was an infant.[6] The Heaths were avid outdoors enthusiasts; Sarah and her father would sometimes wake at 3 a.m. to hunt moose before school, and the family regularly ran 5 km and 10 km races.[6]
At Wasilla High School in Wasilla, Alaska, Palin was the head of the school Fellowship of Christian Athletes.[6] She was the point guard and captain for the basketball team. She helped the team win the Alaska small-school championship in 1982, hitting a critical free throw in the last seconds, despite a stress fracture in her ankle.[6] She earned the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" because of her intense play,[6] and was the leader of team prayer before games.[6]
In 1984, after winning the Miss Wasilla contest earlier that year, Palin finished second in the Miss Alaska beauty pageant[7] which won her a scholarship to help pay her way through college.[6] In the Wasilla pageant, she played the flute and also won Miss Congeniality.[8][9]
Palin holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Idaho where she also minored in politics. She married Todd Palin, who had been her boyfriend from high school onward, on August 29, 1988, and briefly worked as a sports reporter for local Anchorage television stations while also working as a commercial fisherman with her husband.[6]
Family and personal life
Palin's husband, Todd,[66] works for BP energy corporation at an oil field on Alaska's North Slope[67] and works as a fisherman in his hometown in the summers. Todd is a champion snowmobiler, winning the 2,000-mile (3,200 km) "Iron Dog" race four times.[6] Todd is one-eighth Yup'ik. The two eloped shortly after Palin graduated from college; when they learned they needed witnesses for the civil ceremony, they recruited two residents from the old-age home down the street.[6] The Palin family lives in Wasilla, about 40 miles (64 km) north of Anchorage.
On September 11, 2007, the Palins' then eighteen-year-old son Track, eldest of five, joined the Army.[68] He now serves in an infantry brigade and will be deployed to Iraq on September 11, 2008.[69] She also has three daughters: Bristol, Willow and Piper.[11]
On April 18, 2008, while in office as governor, Palin gave birth to her second son and fifth child, Trig Paxson Van Palin, who has Down syndrome.[70] She returned to the office three days after giving birth.[16] Her decision to have the baby after prenatal genetic testing revealed he had the disorder was applauded by the pro-life community.[71]
Details of Palin's personal life have contributed to her political image. She hunts, eats moose hamburger, ice fishes, rides snowmobiles, and owns a float plane.[18][72] Palin holds a lifetime membership with the National Rifle Association. In December 2007, Palin posed for a photo spread in the fashion magazine Vogue.[73]
Conservation policies
In May 2008, Palin objected to the decision of Dirk Kempthorne, the Republican Secretary of the Interior for the United States, to list polar bears as an endangered species.[35]
Social issues
Palin is pro-life.[36] While running for Governor of Alaska, Palin supported the teaching of creationism alongside evolution in schools;[37] however, she noted she would not use "religion as a litmus test, or anybody's personal opinion on evolution or creationism" as criteria for selection to the school board.[37]
She opposes same-sex marriage, but she has stated that she has gay friends and is receptive to gay and lesbian concerns about discrimination.[15]
Palin complied with an Alaskan state Supreme Court order and signed an implementation of same-sex benefits into law under protest, stating that legal options to avoid doing so had run out.[38] [39] She supported a non-binding referendum on whether there should be a constitutional amendment on the matter.[40] Alaska was one of the first U.S. states to pass a constitutional ban on gay marriage, in 1998, along with Hawaii.[41] Palin has stated that she supported the 1998 constitutional amendment.[15]
Palin's first veto was used to block legislation that would have barred the state from granting benefits to the partners of gay state employees. In effect, her veto granted State of Alaska benefits to same-sex couples. The veto occurred after Palin consulted with Alaska's attorney general on the constitutionality of the legislation.[39]
Ok.. someone needs to tell me why McCain is on this ticket.
She is "man-enough" for both of them. I think she is just using him to as a stepping stone to become President of the USa.
Happy Birthday, McCain!
You really did surprise USa with her...
Does she capture Osama bin Laden in October?
Is going to be the October Surprise this year?
You know what they say: if you need a job done, give it to a woman.
Does he look like a moose?A Woman Vice Presidential Candidate! Why didn't we think of that...
Be afraid. Be very afraid. He-who-must-be-named-McCain
My Great Aunt told me she was looking forward to "Pounding the new Preacher"
"I was tickled to learn that 'pounding' someone was new to you. I've always heard it used as in 'pounding the preacher.' The Appalachians are filled with tiny Methodist churches since the circuit riders were about the only ones who'd waste their time up there (I'm not sure there's one Lutheran church in all of the Southern Appalachians). So when the Methodist preachers changed churches every summer, the congregation would fill the pantry of the parsonage with pounds of staples. This is still in use in rural congregations; I was 'pounded' when I started a ministry in Springfield, TN, a small town 30 miles north of Nashville, though most of the younger members brought things like pies ...."
A pound of coffee.
A pound of bacon.
A pound of butter.
A pound of bread.
A pound of sugar.... I learn something new every day. FD
A pound of coffee.
A pound of bacon.
A pound of butter.
A pound of bread.
A pound of sugar.... I learn something new every day. FD
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Bill Maher on Jay Leno
"The flap about Obama lifting some of a speech from Clinton was ridiculous. I mean, Clinton got it from Kennedy, Kennedy got it from FDR, FDR got it from Teddy Roosevelt, Roosevelt got it from Lincoln ... Lincoln got it from John McCain."
Storm could postpone Republican convention
The party is wary of anything that could remind people of Katrina.BLOOMINGTON, MINN. -- As the political spotlight shifts to the upcoming Republican convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul, GOP leaders are closely monitoring the movements of Tropical Storm Gustav, which is approaching hurricane strength as it heads toward the Gulf Coast.Party officials are discussing the possibility of postponing convention proceedings if the threat to New Orleans and other Gulf Coast areas grows. If there is serious damage in the Gulf Coast, images of Republicans partying in Minneapolis-St. Paul could be an embarrassing reminder of the Bush administration's delayed response to Hurricane Katrina three years ago.
Forecasters predicted that the storm could come ashore Tuesday morning as a Category 3 hurricane, with winds in the 113- to 130-mph range. That would be in the middle of the Republican convention, which runs from Monday through Thursday.
There is perhaps no issue over which McCain has been more critical of the Bush administration than its handling of the 2005 storm, which the Arizona Republican has called "disgraceful." In New Orleans in April, McCain distanced himself from President Bush, telling an audience in the city's Lower 9th Ward: "Never again will a disaster of this nature be handled in the terrible and disgraceful way it's been handled."
Asked about a possible postponement, Tucker Bounds, a McCain spokesman, said the presumptive Republican presidential nominee "has always taken into consideration national emergencies. . . . We are monitoring the situation very closely."A damaging hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico also could highlight the risk of offshore drilling in the area at a time when McCain is championing the practice.
In Washington, Bush -- scheduled to speak at the Republican convention Monday -- was receiving what White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said were "regular updates" about the storm's progress.Perino said it was "too premature to say" whether Bush would alter his plan to speak to the convention.
Matt Burns, communications director for the Republican National Convention, emphasized that officials have not made any changes in their plans related to Gustav. "At this juncture we are moving ahead with the planning of our convention, and there have been no changes to our schedule of events. We obviously share the concerns of many Americans as we watch the developments," Burns said.
Spot the problem?
.JPG)
Friend Desmond Downs is a photographer on North Island, New Zealand. He took this photo in Hamilton of a city crew installing posts to stop people parking illegally near City Hall. Seems city crews aren’t any smarter in NZ than they are here.
FD
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