I was listening to the radio this morning and heard a news story about Egyptian Muslims who upon hearing that a local Muslim girl had been caught with a Christian boy decided she should be put to death. When her father refused, they killed him and then went and burned down the local Catholic church. This of course led to more bloodshed and has both sides calling for revenge.
My first thought upon hearing this was, “What a bunch of fucking animals.”
This sentiment was not only aimed at Muslims but at the Middle East in general. I’m not usually one to damn the many for the actions of the few and I fully realize that to do so is wrong, but that was honestly the first thing that came to mind.
I guess I’ve succumbed to Muslim violence overload that media is bombarding me with. It’s all too much. All the tails of inhuman violence taking place in the Middle East, and parts of Africa and Asia dominated mainly by Islam has broken me down.
With this in mind I went to work and came across a news story about an 11-year-old girl who was gang raped by upwards of 15 men and boys in a small town outside of Houston Texas . It seems that many of the people in the town are blaming the girl for being a harlot. Ughh, again my reaction was, “What a bunch of freaking animals.”
This time the sentiment was not only aimed at the people who were involved but at small town Texas inhabitants in general. Again, I know it’s wrong but Sweet Freaking Beejeezuz people, what the fuck is wrong with you?
It’s not Muslims or small town hicks, it’s everyone, they’re all animals. At least 50 percent of the people in the world are animals. You have to assume that everyone you meet is an animal until they prove otherwise.
BEWARE!!
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Conservatives, you're fired!
“Here’s how wide open the 2012 race for the Republican presidential nomination is as the games begin: When Donald Trump showed up Thursday as a last-minute speaker at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, he got a standing ovation.” McClatchyhttp://www.sacbee.com/2011/02/11/3394118/conservative-crowd-sizes-up-candidates.html
What? Was there someone with even nominal political acumen standing behind him? Maybe Rand or Ron Paul? Bobby Jindal? Huckabee? Jeb Bush?
Maybe the report got it wrong. What they meant to write was: “When Donald Trump showed up, attendees scratched their heads and looked at one another in confusion.”
That would make much more sense. If it is in fact written correctly…I mean, come on conservatives, chronically bankrupt, shill for anything, reality television, multiple divorcee…that Donald Trump.
First Palin and now this, can you guys actually distinguish the difference between leaders and entertainers?
What? Was there someone with even nominal political acumen standing behind him? Maybe Rand or Ron Paul? Bobby Jindal? Huckabee? Jeb Bush?
Maybe the report got it wrong. What they meant to write was: “When Donald Trump showed up, attendees scratched their heads and looked at one another in confusion.”
That would make much more sense. If it is in fact written correctly…I mean, come on conservatives, chronically bankrupt, shill for anything, reality television, multiple divorcee…that Donald Trump.
First Palin and now this, can you guys actually distinguish the difference between leaders and entertainers?
Monday, February 1, 2010
Violently hoaxed
I recently wrote this to a friend who e-mailed me with a forward. He said he was disappointed with President Obama and that e-mails like the one he included were getting to him. The e-mail in question had a photo of the president at an event that involved the military. According to the photo description the president refused to salute during a ceremony honoring the soldiers killed in the Ft. Hood massacre:
I can understand being disappointed in a politician, but I’d base that disappointment on something more tangible than a mislabeled photo.
Pics don’t always have to be Photoshopped to be hoaxes, instead they can just be falsely attributed or described. That’s the case here. The photo isn’t from Fort Hood, it’s not taken as the honor guard passes and it wasn’t at an event to honor the soldiers killed at Ft. Hood.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/photos/veteransday.asp
President Obama isn’t a Muslim, a Kenyan, a terrorist, a member of the New World Order or a vampire. He doesn’t hate the military, freedom, the US, babies or apple pie. He is a smart guy who loves his country and wants to make it a better place. However, he is/was a bit naïve and overestimated the things he thought he’d be able to accomplish in a year.
The fraudsters that create this crap and the e-mailers who forward it are really starting to piss me off. Instead of offering up deserved criticism that can lead to intelligent debate and actual change for the better they prey on the base fears of an overworked, stressed demographic trying to scratch through what is an extremely difficult time in our country.
It could be argued that the extreme division they’re creating in the populace is as dangerous as some of the real terror we face from foreign enemies. I fear that it may be creating a perfect environment for unjustified violence.
Anyway, sorry to get all up in arms, I hope all is well. We haven’t spoken a while. I’ll give you a call this weekend.
I can understand being disappointed in a politician, but I’d base that disappointment on something more tangible than a mislabeled photo.
Pics don’t always have to be Photoshopped to be hoaxes, instead they can just be falsely attributed or described. That’s the case here. The photo isn’t from Fort Hood, it’s not taken as the honor guard passes and it wasn’t at an event to honor the soldiers killed at Ft. Hood.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/photos/veteransday.asp
President Obama isn’t a Muslim, a Kenyan, a terrorist, a member of the New World Order or a vampire. He doesn’t hate the military, freedom, the US, babies or apple pie. He is a smart guy who loves his country and wants to make it a better place. However, he is/was a bit naïve and overestimated the things he thought he’d be able to accomplish in a year.
The fraudsters that create this crap and the e-mailers who forward it are really starting to piss me off. Instead of offering up deserved criticism that can lead to intelligent debate and actual change for the better they prey on the base fears of an overworked, stressed demographic trying to scratch through what is an extremely difficult time in our country.
It could be argued that the extreme division they’re creating in the populace is as dangerous as some of the real terror we face from foreign enemies. I fear that it may be creating a perfect environment for unjustified violence.
Anyway, sorry to get all up in arms, I hope all is well. We haven’t spoken a while. I’ll give you a call this weekend.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Supreme Futtbucker
The Supreme Court is in session and the judges are out of their minds. Well, some of them are and surprise, surprise they all lean conservative. Although, this really shouldn’t be important as the issue seems totally nonpartisan to me, but anyway…
Their most recent decision undoes a century’s worth of campaign finance limitations on corporations, unions, non-profits and other group entities. In essence, it allows these organizations to have even more influence on who is elected to federal office.
Under the old system Widget Corporation (who makes widgets) could only spend a limited amount of money to run campaign ads in support of Presidential candidate Shamus Futtbucker. This ruling could make it possible for them to spend as much as their little heart desires, saturating all media with ads for Futtbucker.
Knowing this, Widget Corporation approaches Futtbucker with a proposition. They tell him they will bury the United States in ads championing him and trashing his opponents if, once in office, he’ll throw them a few bones i.e. lowering taxes on widgets, doing away with widget safety regulations and providing widget makers with federal funds for widget research.
What’s Futtbucker to do? He does what every other politician who wants to win does, he agrees.
If you don’t think situations like the above happen you’re serious deluded. They happen all the time and it’s extremely undemocratic. It negates all that great “Of the people, by the people and for the people” stuff the country was built on.
The question remains, why did conservative judges vote the way they did? Currently, conservative are screaming populism, the rule of the people and democracy in action as the reason for the upset victory of Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts. It’s a slam against Obama they say! The people are not happy!
Will the people be happier if big money interests have more say in politics?
Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Saw the movie, Crazy Heart last night. Jeff Bridges is great and Robert Duval, as always, is awesome! You can check out one of the songs on the movie’s Web site, here:
http://www.foxsearchlight.com/crazyheart/
Their most recent decision undoes a century’s worth of campaign finance limitations on corporations, unions, non-profits and other group entities. In essence, it allows these organizations to have even more influence on who is elected to federal office.
Under the old system Widget Corporation (who makes widgets) could only spend a limited amount of money to run campaign ads in support of Presidential candidate Shamus Futtbucker. This ruling could make it possible for them to spend as much as their little heart desires, saturating all media with ads for Futtbucker.
Knowing this, Widget Corporation approaches Futtbucker with a proposition. They tell him they will bury the United States in ads championing him and trashing his opponents if, once in office, he’ll throw them a few bones i.e. lowering taxes on widgets, doing away with widget safety regulations and providing widget makers with federal funds for widget research.
What’s Futtbucker to do? He does what every other politician who wants to win does, he agrees.
If you don’t think situations like the above happen you’re serious deluded. They happen all the time and it’s extremely undemocratic. It negates all that great “Of the people, by the people and for the people” stuff the country was built on.
The question remains, why did conservative judges vote the way they did? Currently, conservative are screaming populism, the rule of the people and democracy in action as the reason for the upset victory of Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts. It’s a slam against Obama they say! The people are not happy!
Will the people be happier if big money interests have more say in politics?
Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Saw the movie, Crazy Heart last night. Jeff Bridges is great and Robert Duval, as always, is awesome! You can check out one of the songs on the movie’s Web site, here:
http://www.foxsearchlight.com/crazyheart/
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Avatar
I saw Avatar twice over the holiday season, once with my Dad and sister and another time with my Mom. Seems the general viewing populace is enjoying it, as it is poised to become the number one grossing movie of all time. I think my Dad fell asleep but he still says he liked what he saw. My Mom went crazy for it and I think it maybe one of her most favorite movies of all time.
Sci-fi and movie geeks are split. While some find it a science fiction masterpiece others are disappointed in the plot’s lack of originality. The haters have a point. While it is visually stunning the plot is a rehash of the stranger-in-a-strange-land-leads-primitive-natives-against-a-technologically-advanced-invader kind of stuff. It’s been done a million times, but I found that Avatar did it really, really well.
Director, writer, producer James Cameron is a master storyteller. He captures the magic, heroism, sadness, humanity and adventure that allows the viewer to place him or herself right in the middle of the movie. He manipulates the audience’s feelings pulling them to highs and dropping them to lows right along with the movie’s characters.
Cheap and gimmicky? Perhaps, but still enjoyable. After all, a movie, book, television show, whatever doesn’t have to alienate someone with its hipness or tangled intelligence to be fun.
Not only did some sci-fi geeks not like it, Conservatives are in a tizzy over it. According to them, it’s anti-military, anti-business, anti-Catholic, anti-American, anti-human, anti….well, you name it. To them it’s just plain evil. It’s a liberal ideology guide put in place by the godless Cameron.
If that is the case, nearly half of all popular media is bound to upset them. Anyway, I give it two-thumbs up.
Best UFO footage of the 2009! http://www.ufocasebook.com/2010/video2009.html
Sci-fi and movie geeks are split. While some find it a science fiction masterpiece others are disappointed in the plot’s lack of originality. The haters have a point. While it is visually stunning the plot is a rehash of the stranger-in-a-strange-land-leads-primitive-natives-against-a-technologically-advanced-invader kind of stuff. It’s been done a million times, but I found that Avatar did it really, really well.
Director, writer, producer James Cameron is a master storyteller. He captures the magic, heroism, sadness, humanity and adventure that allows the viewer to place him or herself right in the middle of the movie. He manipulates the audience’s feelings pulling them to highs and dropping them to lows right along with the movie’s characters.
Cheap and gimmicky? Perhaps, but still enjoyable. After all, a movie, book, television show, whatever doesn’t have to alienate someone with its hipness or tangled intelligence to be fun.
Not only did some sci-fi geeks not like it, Conservatives are in a tizzy over it. According to them, it’s anti-military, anti-business, anti-Catholic, anti-American, anti-human, anti….well, you name it. To them it’s just plain evil. It’s a liberal ideology guide put in place by the godless Cameron.
If that is the case, nearly half of all popular media is bound to upset them. Anyway, I give it two-thumbs up.
Best UFO footage of the 2009! http://www.ufocasebook.com/2010/video2009.html
Thursday, January 22, 2009
California Dreaming
Well, we have a new president. It’s all pretty exciting, but I’ll spare you the echoes of my jubilation as the event has been covered extensively. I’ll only say, congratulations and good luck President Obama. You have your work cut out for you, but you have the hope and dreams of an entire world behind you.
I am however still going to drop a note on politics, but on those that aren’t happening in the state. Yes, aren’t. The California legislature, the governor, the state controller, the attorney general, pretty much every elected state official currently in office has been unable to pass an emergency budget needed to keep the state fiscally solvent. Still, they’ve been huddled over a mediation table feverishly trying to hammer out an agreement that will save California …or have they.
Of course, they took off for at least a few weeks for the holidays. No big deal right. I mean firefighters would do the same if a raging wildfire fell over Christmas. Oh, and the main players, including the governor and the speaker, recently left for a week to visit DC. They took in the sites, attended the inauguration and hit up a few of the parties. Good for them, when I was in the military and I was confronted with a crisis but someone was throwing a really good party, I’d often hit up the party (especially if I thought the attendees might be people that could further my career).
But I’m going to be careful about blaming just our elected officials. I think they’re totally inept, selfish and lazy but our citizens aren’t that much better. State employees are getting ready to take a 10 percent pay cut, schools are looking at cutting their hours, colleges have sliced enrollment, and on and on. Still, in my department, we really haven’t been asked to find anyway to cut our costs. Instead, managers are angling to keep their perks like the student assistants that answer their phones and file their papers. We just had four brand new flatscreen televisions put up in our office. (We use them for work, but we already had regular televisions.) People on public assistance are marching around the state capital decrying possible cuts to their respective programs and then going home and watching premium cable that costs them $100 bucks a month.
So not only are we doing very little to help ourselves currently, I’m sure will continue to do the same when we, the citizens of California, vote these politicians that have been working so hard on our behalf, back into office.
Clickity: http://www.iousathemovie.com/
I just saw this movie tonight. Maybe one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen!
I am however still going to drop a note on politics, but on those that aren’t happening in the state. Yes, aren’t. The California legislature, the governor, the state controller, the attorney general, pretty much every elected state official currently in office has been unable to pass an emergency budget needed to keep the state fiscally solvent. Still, they’ve been huddled over a mediation table feverishly trying to hammer out an agreement that will save California …or have they.
Of course, they took off for at least a few weeks for the holidays. No big deal right. I mean firefighters would do the same if a raging wildfire fell over Christmas. Oh, and the main players, including the governor and the speaker, recently left for a week to visit DC. They took in the sites, attended the inauguration and hit up a few of the parties. Good for them, when I was in the military and I was confronted with a crisis but someone was throwing a really good party, I’d often hit up the party (especially if I thought the attendees might be people that could further my career).
But I’m going to be careful about blaming just our elected officials. I think they’re totally inept, selfish and lazy but our citizens aren’t that much better. State employees are getting ready to take a 10 percent pay cut, schools are looking at cutting their hours, colleges have sliced enrollment, and on and on. Still, in my department, we really haven’t been asked to find anyway to cut our costs. Instead, managers are angling to keep their perks like the student assistants that answer their phones and file their papers. We just had four brand new flatscreen televisions put up in our office. (We use them for work, but we already had regular televisions.) People on public assistance are marching around the state capital decrying possible cuts to their respective programs and then going home and watching premium cable that costs them $100 bucks a month.
So not only are we doing very little to help ourselves currently, I’m sure will continue to do the same when we, the citizens of California, vote these politicians that have been working so hard on our behalf, back into office.
Clickity: http://www.iousathemovie.com/
I just saw this movie tonight. Maybe one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Bizarro World
Sorry I haven’t updated in a while. With the roommate out, helping the parents and being a lazy ass it can get a little hectic.
So at a recent McCain campaign rally the crowd became so worked up when the Senator mentioned Obama they started yelling “traitor” and “terrorist.” McCain did the decent thing and condemned such talk but holy shit! People are losing their freaking minds.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen people lose their heads like they have during the run-up to this election. I’ve seen and heard so many hypocritical, ridiculous and insane things I’m starting to wonder if I’ve stepped into some sort of Bizarro world.
Below are just a few examples of what I’m talking about:
NPR had an old lady on the other day who said she was a life long Democrat who has never considered herself racist, but she’s not sure she’s going to vote Democrat this time because Obama would put “his people” first.
And who can forget the Republicans who’ve lambasted Obama for not having enough experience and then embracing Palin.
Or the Republicans who’ve lambasted Obama for not having enough experience even though they voted George W. Bush into office.
Then there was the female Democrats who are so upset about Clinton not being named the Democratic candidate they're voting for the McCain/Palin ticket.
We also have the evangelical females who believe a woman’s place is in the home caring for children but are championing Palin.
And there are the masses at MCain campaign events booing government regulation, when McCain says that deregulation is partly to blame for the country’s housing crisis and subsequent economic downturn.
There are also the Hilary Clinton critics who told her to stop whining about her media coverage but are sick of the liberal media’s coverage of Governor Sarah Palin. On the same page, we can’t forget the Palin critics telling her to stop crying about the media coverage when they cried about the coverage of Clinton .
We also have all the crazy things each candidate has said, like John McCain saying the economy is “fundamentally sound” and Obama saying the surge of troops in Iraq is not working. (Again I would highly recommend that everyone research the truth in each candidate’s words by hitting up PolitiFact.com and FactCheck.org.)
Still, I think the oddest thing I’ve seen is the independently produced Hilary Clinton campaign video: Hilary for You and Me. This, in my opinion, is why she was not chosen as the Democratic candidate. Through no fault of her own, I believe this video actually will cause people who see her in the street to run up and punch her in the face.
The video above is enough giggity for today.
So at a recent McCain campaign rally the crowd became so worked up when the Senator mentioned Obama they started yelling “traitor” and “terrorist.” McCain did the decent thing and condemned such talk but holy shit! People are losing their freaking minds.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen people lose their heads like they have during the run-up to this election. I’ve seen and heard so many hypocritical, ridiculous and insane things I’m starting to wonder if I’ve stepped into some sort of Bizarro world.
Below are just a few examples of what I’m talking about:
NPR had an old lady on the other day who said she was a life long Democrat who has never considered herself racist, but she’s not sure she’s going to vote Democrat this time because Obama would put “his people” first.
And who can forget the Republicans who’ve lambasted Obama for not having enough experience and then embracing Palin.
Or the Republicans who’ve lambasted Obama for not having enough experience even though they voted George W. Bush into office.
Then there was the female Democrats who are so upset about Clinton not being named the Democratic candidate they're voting for the McCain/Palin ticket.
We also have the evangelical females who believe a woman’s place is in the home caring for children but are championing Palin.
And there are the masses at MCain campaign events booing government regulation, when McCain says that deregulation is partly to blame for the country’s housing crisis and subsequent economic downturn.
There are also the Hilary Clinton critics who told her to stop whining about her media coverage but are sick of the liberal media’s coverage of Governor Sarah Palin. On the same page, we can’t forget the Palin critics telling her to stop crying about the media coverage when they cried about the coverage of Clinton .
We also have all the crazy things each candidate has said, like John McCain saying the economy is “fundamentally sound” and Obama saying the surge of troops in Iraq is not working. (Again I would highly recommend that everyone research the truth in each candidate’s words by hitting up PolitiFact.com and FactCheck.org.)
Still, I think the oddest thing I’ve seen is the independently produced Hilary Clinton campaign video: Hilary for You and Me. This, in my opinion, is why she was not chosen as the Democratic candidate. Through no fault of her own, I believe this video actually will cause people who see her in the street to run up and punch her in the face.
The video above is enough giggity for today.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Faith in the will of God
So I read an interesting article in the LA Times today. The gist of it was that Evangelical Christians are battling over whether it’s appropriate for Governor Sarah Palin to be a politician, specifically vice-president. It is their belief that women should be subservient to men (i.e. the household and children are considered their realm), and they base this belief off their faith in the bible.
I try to base my beliefs on logic and experience so it’s hard for me to believe that others are content to live by “faith,” a belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. However, what’s even harder for me to believe is when the “faithful” buck their belief to get something they want.
“"It's probably presumptuous of us to figure out how she is going to balance all of this," said Pat Ennis, a Placerita congregant who heads the home economics department at The Master's College, a Christian institution in Santa Clarita. "The most important thing is that she can do it in God's strength."”
What? So as long as it can be done in God’s strength it’s okay?
I just finished “Escape,” a book written by and about Carolyn Jessop, a woman who grew up in the fundamentalist Mormon cult now associated with the Yearning For Zion polygamist compound and its psychotic leader Warren Jeffs. The men who ran this group continually used the same argument to justify the transgressions they made against the very religion they based their entire life around.
“Umm, do I have a TV? I guess I do. It must be the will of God.”
“Did I just drink a beer? Well, yes I did. It must be the will of God.”
“Sorry your son is sick, but I can’t allow you to take him to the hospital, because his sickness is God punishing you for not pleasing me.”“Whoops, I just married three 14-year-old girls. It must be the will of God.”
Reading this book really pissed me off. I guess I shouldn’t take it out on Fundamentalist Christian Southern California women, but I see the same ridiculousness in their actions that I saw in the world of the FLDS. Sure, the FLDS and Jeffs were abusive, torturous and just plain evil but it’s only a hop, skip and a jump to get to the same place when you live your life based on faith and the threat of burning in hell.
I’m too pissed off to have a smile, feel good clickity today so enjoy looking at my big fat belly: http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.p.henry/09MatherMudRun092708?authkey=FDr2fWIQaj8#
I try to base my beliefs on logic and experience so it’s hard for me to believe that others are content to live by “faith,” a belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. However, what’s even harder for me to believe is when the “faithful” buck their belief to get something they want.
“"It's probably presumptuous of us to figure out how she is going to balance all of this," said Pat Ennis, a Placerita congregant who heads the home economics department at The Master's College, a Christian institution in Santa Clarita. "The most important thing is that she can do it in God's strength."”
What? So as long as it can be done in God’s strength it’s okay?
I just finished “Escape,” a book written by and about Carolyn Jessop, a woman who grew up in the fundamentalist Mormon cult now associated with the Yearning For Zion polygamist compound and its psychotic leader Warren Jeffs. The men who ran this group continually used the same argument to justify the transgressions they made against the very religion they based their entire life around.
“Umm, do I have a TV? I guess I do. It must be the will of God.”
“Did I just drink a beer? Well, yes I did. It must be the will of God.”
“Sorry your son is sick, but I can’t allow you to take him to the hospital, because his sickness is God punishing you for not pleasing me.”“Whoops, I just married three 14-year-old girls. It must be the will of God.”
Reading this book really pissed me off. I guess I shouldn’t take it out on Fundamentalist Christian Southern California women, but I see the same ridiculousness in their actions that I saw in the world of the FLDS. Sure, the FLDS and Jeffs were abusive, torturous and just plain evil but it’s only a hop, skip and a jump to get to the same place when you live your life based on faith and the threat of burning in hell.
I’m too pissed off to have a smile, feel good clickity today so enjoy looking at my big fat belly: http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.p.henry/09MatherMudRun092708?authkey=FDr2fWIQaj8#
Thursday, September 4, 2008
The Mother of All Hockey Moms
Whoa! I listened to the Republican National Convention last night and I must say it scared me. Giuliani and Palin were out for blood and let nothing, including the truth get in the way of them thrashing their opponents and praising John McCain.
Now I don’t expect anything really important to be said at a convention, they’re mostly for rallying the troops, but I do expect them to be somewhat civil. Giuliani and Palin didn’t even come close. Baseless and hypocritical attacks that verge on the irresponsible are what I expect to read on poorly written blogs, not hear from a politician who wants to be vice-president.
Still the old white people in attendance really seemed to eat it up….which again scares me. The rising culture of mean spirited criticism that has risen with the anonymity of the Internet is not something I expect to be applauded at a political convention, unless of course that political convention is made up of barbarians or perhaps zombies. Then it would be okay.
What has pissed me off most during the RNC has been the calls by conservative politicians and pundits to “lay off” Palin and her family. Giuliani pinpointed what I’m talking about last night when he said, “how dare THEY question whether Palin will have enough time to spend with her children while vice president?” (I guess by “they” he is refereeing to bloggers because I have yet to hear a Democratic politician say anything resembling a snipe at Palin and her ability to mother.)
Listen guys, if I was to run around calling myself Will the Soccer Guy while always wearing shin guards, cleats and goalie gloves don’t you think people would begin asking questions about my soccer skills? These would be legitimate questions, just like the questions that might be asked about someone who champions herself as a “hockey mom,” continuously talks about her children and always puts them center stage.
Now, if I applied for a job to sell men’s suits I would expect the interviewer to ask me how much I knew about men’s suits including where they’re made, fit, quality, fabric and types of stitching. This would make sense, the same way it would make sense to question someone wanting to be vice-president about their foreign policy experience, their dealings with lobbyists and if they have ever used past positions for private reasons.
Turning away from the convention but not Mrs. Palin, I was asked if I did in fact think she was a good mother. Of course I have no way of knowing for sure, but from my point of view all signs point to no.
Now, I’m not sure of what to think about her returning to work 3 days after the birth of her youngest son. It sounds a little rushed and emotionally cold but that’s really hard for me to judge since I have never been a pregnant working mother. I’m also not sure of what to think about her 17-year-old daughter being pregnant. My questions around that would concern what, if anything, Palin told her daughter about sex and why her daughter didn’t listen. Still teens will be teens, but for better or for worse their actions do reflect on their parents.
Those issues aside, what leads me to guess that she’s probably not the best mother figure, is that she made her daughter the face of teen pregnancy for the entire country. Her daughter, Bristol , is now the butt of jokes, the subject of tabloids and the cause of town hall meetings. She’ll have to deal with what most people deal with in private on the public stage on which her mother knowingly put her. How did she feel when she read about her soon to be husband’s MySpace page that never mentions her and states that he doesn’t want kids? Will she think the Saturday Night Live skit about her is funny? What about the YouTube videos that are bound to lambast her? It really seems that Palin put herself before her daughter and that doesn’t read right in my book.
Random Web site: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bobcats5-2008sep05,0,2286826.story
Bobcats move in!
I couldn't resist giving a double post with more Palin goodness:
http://disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/8143/Daily_Show_on_Republican_hypocrisy/
Now I don’t expect anything really important to be said at a convention, they’re mostly for rallying the troops, but I do expect them to be somewhat civil. Giuliani and Palin didn’t even come close. Baseless and hypocritical attacks that verge on the irresponsible are what I expect to read on poorly written blogs, not hear from a politician who wants to be vice-president.
Still the old white people in attendance really seemed to eat it up….which again scares me. The rising culture of mean spirited criticism that has risen with the anonymity of the Internet is not something I expect to be applauded at a political convention, unless of course that political convention is made up of barbarians or perhaps zombies. Then it would be okay.
What has pissed me off most during the RNC has been the calls by conservative politicians and pundits to “lay off” Palin and her family. Giuliani pinpointed what I’m talking about last night when he said, “how dare THEY question whether Palin will have enough time to spend with her children while vice president?” (I guess by “they” he is refereeing to bloggers because I have yet to hear a Democratic politician say anything resembling a snipe at Palin and her ability to mother.)
Listen guys, if I was to run around calling myself Will the Soccer Guy while always wearing shin guards, cleats and goalie gloves don’t you think people would begin asking questions about my soccer skills? These would be legitimate questions, just like the questions that might be asked about someone who champions herself as a “hockey mom,” continuously talks about her children and always puts them center stage.
Now, if I applied for a job to sell men’s suits I would expect the interviewer to ask me how much I knew about men’s suits including where they’re made, fit, quality, fabric and types of stitching. This would make sense, the same way it would make sense to question someone wanting to be vice-president about their foreign policy experience, their dealings with lobbyists and if they have ever used past positions for private reasons.
Turning away from the convention but not Mrs. Palin, I was asked if I did in fact think she was a good mother. Of course I have no way of knowing for sure, but from my point of view all signs point to no.
Now, I’m not sure of what to think about her returning to work 3 days after the birth of her youngest son. It sounds a little rushed and emotionally cold but that’s really hard for me to judge since I have never been a pregnant working mother. I’m also not sure of what to think about her 17-year-old daughter being pregnant. My questions around that would concern what, if anything, Palin told her daughter about sex and why her daughter didn’t listen. Still teens will be teens, but for better or for worse their actions do reflect on their parents.
Those issues aside, what leads me to guess that she’s probably not the best mother figure, is that she made her daughter the face of teen pregnancy for the entire country. Her daughter, Bristol , is now the butt of jokes, the subject of tabloids and the cause of town hall meetings. She’ll have to deal with what most people deal with in private on the public stage on which her mother knowingly put her. How did she feel when she read about her soon to be husband’s MySpace page that never mentions her and states that he doesn’t want kids? Will she think the Saturday Night Live skit about her is funny? What about the YouTube videos that are bound to lambast her? It really seems that Palin put herself before her daughter and that doesn’t read right in my book.
Random Web site: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bobcats5-2008sep05,0,2286826.story
Bobcats move in!
I couldn't resist giving a double post with more Palin goodness:
http://disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/8143/Daily_Show_on_Republican_hypocrisy/
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Ohhh Baby!
This presidential election just gets better and better. Monday it was announced that vice-presidential nominee and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter, Bristol , is five months pregnant.
Whoa! I didn’t see that coming, but honestly I’m not interested in the actual pregnancy, but more in the reaction to it by both sides.
Liberal bloggers were on the attack early, actually suggesting that Palin’s youngest son, Trig, is really Bristol ’s baby. Not the nicest thing to suggest, actually it’s quite despicable, but democrat/liberal mainstream talking heads pretty much ignored the rumors. With the truth that the 17-year-old daughter is knocked up it’s remained pretty much the same. Most aren’t slamming Palin or her daughter but are more interested in how conservatives/Republicans are reacting to the announcement.
And boy have they reacted, not with anger but with great happiness!?!? Yes, they are ecstatic! Republican politicians, pundits and convention goers see nothing wrong with Palin being a “family values” conservative who doesn’t want anything to do with explicit sex education programs even while Bristol is next door knocking boots with an 18-year-old Alaskan “redneck.” They’ve praised Palin, her daughter and the entire family for keeping the baby and rejoiced at the news that the two teens would marry in the very near future. One convention attendee was almost in tears as she described how this humanized Palin and plenty were disgusted by the media making the story a big deal.
(I still question whether this is really happening. All the media I have heard have been more interested in how this news was hitting the conservative electorate than in why Palin’s underage daughter was pregnant, but anyway…)
What’s struck me, is the shear hypocrisy of the whole business. “Personal lives are off limits” they say but Michelle Obama is scrutinized for not being the perfect wife, Slick Willy Clinton is impeached for his sexual shenanigans in the oval office and rumors are launched by Karl Rove and the Bush campaign during the 2000 election about Cindy McCain being a drug addict and her husband fathering a “BLACK” child.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s not just Republicans, Democrats are just as bad (although these things tend to hit Republicans much harder because they style themselves as the god-fearing, family values, personal responsibility, moral judges of the country).
So what is it guys, can I make personal attacks against my political rivals or not?
All the politics aside, I hope that the issue of teen pregnancy doesn’t get lost in the miasma of patriotic rhetoric. Teen pregnancy is a serious problem with massive consequences for the country. It’s one of the main causes of poverty and results in lower education levels and quality of life for both the mother and her child. With the issue currently on the main stage, the country has an excellent opportunity to expose it to the public and to actually explore the larger issue of sex education, contraceptives offered in schools and teen motherhood in general.
Clickability: http://gralienreport.com/ufos/ufo-video-sky-squid-filmed-by-discovery-channel-crew/
Sky Squid!!!
Whoa! I didn’t see that coming, but honestly I’m not interested in the actual pregnancy, but more in the reaction to it by both sides.
Liberal bloggers were on the attack early, actually suggesting that Palin’s youngest son, Trig, is really Bristol ’s baby. Not the nicest thing to suggest, actually it’s quite despicable, but democrat/liberal mainstream talking heads pretty much ignored the rumors. With the truth that the 17-year-old daughter is knocked up it’s remained pretty much the same. Most aren’t slamming Palin or her daughter but are more interested in how conservatives/Republicans are reacting to the announcement.
And boy have they reacted, not with anger but with great happiness!?!? Yes, they are ecstatic! Republican politicians, pundits and convention goers see nothing wrong with Palin being a “family values” conservative who doesn’t want anything to do with explicit sex education programs even while Bristol is next door knocking boots with an 18-year-old Alaskan “redneck.” They’ve praised Palin, her daughter and the entire family for keeping the baby and rejoiced at the news that the two teens would marry in the very near future. One convention attendee was almost in tears as she described how this humanized Palin and plenty were disgusted by the media making the story a big deal.
(I still question whether this is really happening. All the media I have heard have been more interested in how this news was hitting the conservative electorate than in why Palin’s underage daughter was pregnant, but anyway…)
What’s struck me, is the shear hypocrisy of the whole business. “Personal lives are off limits” they say but Michelle Obama is scrutinized for not being the perfect wife, Slick Willy Clinton is impeached for his sexual shenanigans in the oval office and rumors are launched by Karl Rove and the Bush campaign during the 2000 election about Cindy McCain being a drug addict and her husband fathering a “BLACK” child.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s not just Republicans, Democrats are just as bad (although these things tend to hit Republicans much harder because they style themselves as the god-fearing, family values, personal responsibility, moral judges of the country).
So what is it guys, can I make personal attacks against my political rivals or not?
All the politics aside, I hope that the issue of teen pregnancy doesn’t get lost in the miasma of patriotic rhetoric. Teen pregnancy is a serious problem with massive consequences for the country. It’s one of the main causes of poverty and results in lower education levels and quality of life for both the mother and her child. With the issue currently on the main stage, the country has an excellent opportunity to expose it to the public and to actually explore the larger issue of sex education, contraceptives offered in schools and teen motherhood in general.
Clickability: http://gralienreport.com/ufos/ufo-video-sky-squid-filmed-by-discovery-channel-crew/
Sky Squid!!!
Friday, August 29, 2008
It's so conventional
So the Democratic National Convention is in the bag. Hilary Clinton didn’t raise hell, Biden talked a lot but not so much that he put everyone to sleep and Obama rocked the mic to close the whole shebang Thursday night.
In my opinion the best and most powerful speech was given by disabled Iraq War veteran Tammy Duckworth. She really stressed Obama’s emotional and political investments with soldiers, sailors and airmen by giving concrete examples of actions the presidential candidate has taken. Not only that, she talked up Obama as strong and right, not only for veterans but for the military.
Hands down, the best line out of any of the speeches was Ohio Governor Ted Strickland’s bit about Bush starting on third base and stealing second. Classic!
Overall all I’d say the Democrats did a pretty good job of getting their message across; painting Obama as a common man with excellent judgment and McCain as out of touch, but more importantly as Bush’s little crony. Over and over again, McCain was linked to Bush and his failed policies, which I think is really going to put the heat on McCain during next week’s Republican Convention.
I assume Bush will speak, but I highly doubt he’ll be seen with McCain. However, even having McCain’s name coming out of Bush’s mouth is going to leave a taint. It’s going to be a very interesting and I’m actually looking forward to the Republican convention more than I did the Democratic one.
Linkity goodness: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/3981669.stm
Why I voted for Bush, a message board from 2004.
In my opinion the best and most powerful speech was given by disabled Iraq War veteran Tammy Duckworth. She really stressed Obama’s emotional and political investments with soldiers, sailors and airmen by giving concrete examples of actions the presidential candidate has taken. Not only that, she talked up Obama as strong and right, not only for veterans but for the military.
Hands down, the best line out of any of the speeches was Ohio Governor Ted Strickland’s bit about Bush starting on third base and stealing second. Classic!
Overall all I’d say the Democrats did a pretty good job of getting their message across; painting Obama as a common man with excellent judgment and McCain as out of touch, but more importantly as Bush’s little crony. Over and over again, McCain was linked to Bush and his failed policies, which I think is really going to put the heat on McCain during next week’s Republican Convention.
I assume Bush will speak, but I highly doubt he’ll be seen with McCain. However, even having McCain’s name coming out of Bush’s mouth is going to leave a taint. It’s going to be a very interesting and I’m actually looking forward to the Republican convention more than I did the Democratic one.
Linkity goodness: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/3981669.stm
Why I voted for Bush, a message board from 2004.
Friday, August 15, 2008
No, not that Georgia
Things are looking pretty grim in Georgia. Russia plowed its way in there and it doesn’t look like they’ll be leaving anytime soon. As I understand it, the ceasefire agreement is signed and it allows Russian troops to occupy some areas of the country indefinitely.
This seems like a pretty risky move. Allowing Russia to stay basically condones its actions and gives it the green light to make other “little” land grabs. History would lead me to believe that this could lead to world War III. I stress the word “could” as I can’t see it happening, but it’s important to remember that both WWI and WWII started with actions in tiny, tiny nations.
That’s not the only thing that bothers me about the whole situation. What does international pressure really mean? You’d think the first actions to be taken would be economic sanctions of some kind, but in our global economy that’s all but impossible. Russia is too large and plays too much of a role in making the world economy run. Besides, the US economy is currently in shambles, so indebted to foreign interests that an embargo on Russia would cripple us even further. So what can we and/or the world do, or should we do anything?
If the majority of opinion in certain parts of Georgia embraces Russian rule, should an outside power try to stop them? I’m not sure how valid a question it is as it essentially negates the entire idea of landownership, countries and nationalities but it is interesting. Might this freedom to take your home and the land it sits on and join another country be the ultimate freedom?
Todays link: http://www.urlesque.com/2008/07/31/depressed-pug-is-hot-as-sh-t-web-star/
If that's not the cutest little guy ever, I'll punch a baby.
This seems like a pretty risky move. Allowing Russia to stay basically condones its actions and gives it the green light to make other “little” land grabs. History would lead me to believe that this could lead to world War III. I stress the word “could” as I can’t see it happening, but it’s important to remember that both WWI and WWII started with actions in tiny, tiny nations.
That’s not the only thing that bothers me about the whole situation. What does international pressure really mean? You’d think the first actions to be taken would be economic sanctions of some kind, but in our global economy that’s all but impossible. Russia is too large and plays too much of a role in making the world economy run. Besides, the US economy is currently in shambles, so indebted to foreign interests that an embargo on Russia would cripple us even further. So what can we and/or the world do, or should we do anything?
If the majority of opinion in certain parts of Georgia embraces Russian rule, should an outside power try to stop them? I’m not sure how valid a question it is as it essentially negates the entire idea of landownership, countries and nationalities but it is interesting. Might this freedom to take your home and the land it sits on and join another country be the ultimate freedom?
Todays link: http://www.urlesque.com/2008/07/31/depressed-pug-is-hot-as-sh-t-web-star/
If that's not the cutest little guy ever, I'll punch a baby.
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