Okay, I'm at it again. I just wrote another letter to various newspapers and, once again, it sounded so good that I wanted to preserve it for posterity. By the way, my last letter, the one about Palin's selection as VP and McCain pandering to women was published in the Rocky Mountain News yesterday, 9/25/08. Woo Hoo!
Here's what I wrote this time, on McCain's published statement that he was a strong supporter of banking deregulation and wanted to do the same thing to health care:
What's bad for banking is bad for healthcare
In the midst of the biggest financial crisis most of us have seen in our lifetimes, a crisis precipitated by the rampant deregulation of the banking industry, John McCain wants to repeat this unsuccessful strategy with the U.S. healthcare system. He proposed precisely this in the Sept./Oct. 2008 issue of Contingencies Magazine, and stated how much he supported the deregulation of the banking industry. No wonder McCain tried to put his campaign on hold to go work on fixing the financial crisis - he was instrumental in creating that crisis.
McCain, Bush and their cronies have already put our financial futures and security at risk by eliminating much of the oversight of the financial industry. We can't let McCain go on to put our health and healthcare at risk by doing the same thing in the health care sector.
We can't continue to let our elected leaders do the same things over and over, hoping that maybe this time they'll work. We can't afford John McCain and four more years of failed Bush policies presented as McCain's own happy thoughts. We can't afford a Vice Presidential candidate who is woefully unprepared on every single issue she would face as President if the unthinkable happened. We simply can't afford to elect McCain and Palin.
Peace,
AuntieM
Friday, September 26, 2008
She Who Must Not Be Named
“Should she become president, Palin seems capable of enacting policies so detached from the common interests of humanity, and from empirical reality, as to unite the entire world against us.” - Sam Harris, “When Atheists Attack”, Newsweek, Sept. 29, 2008 http://www.newsweek.com/id/160080/output/print
Reasons why people may be fooled into voting for Sarah Palin, and why we shouldn’t let ourselves be fooled into believing the Republican hype.
1. “She’s a mom, and she knows what it’s like to be a mom.” So she can (and has) spawned, big deal. So can (and has) the skunk that visits my backyard. That doesn’t qualify the skunk to be Vice President, and neither does it qualify Sarah Palin. The ability to reproduce has no bearing on whether or not she could lead this country. By using motherhood as a rationale, no President or Vice President in the history of the United States has been qualified to serve. If this rationale was to be applied, would that mean those who are infertile or childless by choice would automatically be disqualified from high political office?
2. “Sarah Palin is an ordinary person.” Absolutely correct, there’s absolutely nothing in her background that qualifies as an outstanding achievement that is relevant to being one heartbeat away from the Presidency. Why do Americans treasure mediocrity? Does it make them feel better about themselves? Since when is being accomplished and educated a drawback in the eyes of the American people? We go into serious debt to send our kids and ourselves to college, so that shows we place high value on education. So why, when a well-educated person like Barack Obama runs for high office, is he suddenly characterized as elitist and “uppity.” Careful folks, I may have to bring the “r” word into play.
3. “The media is mean to her!” Waaahhh. You mean that Palin, unlike any other politician since the advent of mass communication, should be exempt from the same level of scrutiny to which all other candidates are subjected? Don’t tell me it’s because she’s a woman, because it would be completely sexist to assume either that she shouldn’t have to explain herself, her actions and her views, or that she can’t handle the pressure. If (Goddess forbid!) McCain is elected and kicks the bucket – four melanomas will do that to a person, pretty quickly – and Know-Nothing Palin winds up in the Oval Office, she’d have to handle tremendous pressure. Unless, that is, she plans to let her husband run the show… and the country.
4. “She’s qualified.” How? What in her moose-eating, wolf-killing, abstinence-teaching life has even remotely qualified her to be VP, and possibly President? Just in the last day or two, Palin once again demonstrated her complete ignorance of foreign policy by calling Henry Kissinger “naïve” and claiming he didn’t know how to negotiate effectively. Excuse me? The only thing she’s negotiated is the money-losing sale of that plane in Alaska, maybe her kid’s bedtimes and allowances, and the upcoming marriage of her underage pregnant daughter. Palin’s ignorance is the truly dangerous, arrogant type that causes her not to realize how ignorant she really is, and to stick by her guns (pun intended) until the rest of the world comes around to her way of thinking. Palin’s ignorance doesn’t leave room for new information and new perspectives. Palin’s ignorance is the kind that, at the very least, will make the US an even bigger laughingstock with the international community, and at worst, may kill millions of people, soldiers and civilians, through her arrogance.
5. “Palin is a good Christian.” How’s that again? Please define “good” so we’re all talking about the same thing. According to Sam Harris' "When Atheists Attack" (Newsweek 9/29/08),
“In the churches where Palin has worshiped for decades, parishioners enjoy "baptism in the Holy Spirit," "miraculous healings" and "the gift of tongues." Invariably, they offer astonishingly irrational accounts of this behavior and of its significance for the entire cosmos. Palin's spiritual colleagues describe themselves as part of "the final generation," engaged in "spiritual warfare" to purge the earth of "demonic strongholds." Palin has spent her entire adult life immersed in this apocalyptic hysteria. Ask yourself: Is it a good idea to place the most powerful military on earth at her disposal? Do we actually want our leaders thinking about the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy when it comes time to say to the Iranians, or to the North Koreans, or to the Pakistanis, or to the Russians or to the Chinese: "All options remain on the table"?
Personally this scares the crap out of me. I look at the Presidential election process as an extended job interview, during which I assess the qualifications of the candidates and choose the one that I think will do the best job of leading the country. Religion plays no part in my choice, although it may with some. However, Palin’s believe that we’re already in some sort of Biblical “end times” has the capacity to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. What if Palin (again, Goddess forbid!) winds up being in charge of the infamous “button” when a conflict with another nation becomes heated, and she chooses to press the button because God told her that whatever nation she wants to bomb is a “demonic stronghold”? Do we really want to go back into the dark ages and let religion control the actions of politicians and governments? That’s what Palin brings to the table.
Peace,
AuntieM
Friday, September 19, 2008
White privilege
This article is reproduced word-for-word from an e-mail I received yesterday. The author of this piece, as cited below, is Tim Wise, and I was so impressed by the accuracy of his observations that I just had to post his article on my blog. As I told a colleague yesterday, this makes me want to resign my skin color because I don't want to be tainted by "white privilege".
Anyway, enjoy, reflect and share.
Peace,
AuntieM
This is Your Nation on White Privilege
By Tim Wise
9/13/08
For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.
White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because "every family has challenges," even as black and Latino families with similar "challenges" are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.
White privilege is when you can call yourself a "f***in' redneck,"like Bristol Palin's boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll "kick their f***in' ass," and talk about how you like to "shoot shit" for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.
White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.
White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don't all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S.Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you're "untested."
White privilege is being able to say that you support the words "under God" in the pledge of allegiance because "if it was good enough forthe founding fathers, it's good enough for me," and not be immediately disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the "under God" part wasn't added untilthe 1950s--while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.
White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you.
White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto is "Alaska first," and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she's being disrespectful.
White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor--and people think you're being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college and the fact that she lives close to Russia--you're somehow being mean, or even sexist.
White privilege is being able to convince white women who don't even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because suddenly your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a "second look."
White privilege is being able to fire people who didn't support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.
White privilege is when you can take nearly twenty-four hours to get to a hospital after beginning to leak amniotic fluid, and still beviewed as a great mom whose commitment to her children is unquestionable, and whose "next door neighbor" qualities make her ready to be VP, while if you're a black candidate for president and you let your children be interviewed for a few seconds on TV, you're irresponsibly exploiting them.
White privilege is being able to give a 36 minute speech in which you talk about lipstick and make fun of your opponent, while laying out no substantive policy positions on any issue at all, and still manage to be considered a legitimate candidate, while a black person who gives an hour speech the week before, in which he lays out specific policy proposals on several issues, is still criticized for being too vague about what he would do if elected.
White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God's punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you're just a good church-going Christian, but if you're black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department ofDefense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you're an extremist who probably hates America.
White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked bya reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a "trick question," while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O'Reilly means you're dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.
White privilege is being able to go to a prestigious prep school, then to Yale and then Harvard Business school, and yet, still be seen as just an average guy (George W. Bush) while being black, going to a prestigious prep school, then Occidental College, then Columbia, and then to Harvard Law, makes you "uppity," and a snob who probably looks down on regular folks.
White privilege is being able to graduate near the bottom of your college class (McCain), or graduate with a C average from Yale (W.)and that's OK, and you're cut out to be president, but if you're black and you graduate near the top of your class from Harvard Law, you can't be trusted to make good decisions in office.
White privilege is being able to dump your first wife after she's disfigured in a car crash so you can take up with a multi-millionaire beauty queen (who you go on to call the c-word in public) and still be thought of as a man of strong family values, while if you're black and married for nearly twenty years to the same woman, your family is viewed as un-American and your gestures of affection for each other are called "terrorist fist bumps."
White privilege is being able to sing a song about bombing Iran and still be viewed as a sober and rational statesman, with the maturity to be president, while being black and suggesting that the U.S. should speak with other nations, even when we have disagreements with them, makes you "dangerously naive and immature."
White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism and an absent father is apparently among the "lesser adversities" faced by other politicians, as Sarah Palin explained in her convention speech.
And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren't sure about that whole "change" thing.
Ya know, it's just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain. White privilege is, in short, the problem.
Source: http://www.blogger.com/.
Anyway, enjoy, reflect and share.
Peace,
AuntieM
This is Your Nation on White Privilege
By Tim Wise
9/13/08
For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.
White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because "every family has challenges," even as black and Latino families with similar "challenges" are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.
White privilege is when you can call yourself a "f***in' redneck,"like Bristol Palin's boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll "kick their f***in' ass," and talk about how you like to "shoot shit" for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.
White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.
White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don't all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S.Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you're "untested."
White privilege is being able to say that you support the words "under God" in the pledge of allegiance because "if it was good enough forthe founding fathers, it's good enough for me," and not be immediately disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the "under God" part wasn't added untilthe 1950s--while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.
White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you.
White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto is "Alaska first," and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she's being disrespectful.
White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor--and people think you're being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college and the fact that she lives close to Russia--you're somehow being mean, or even sexist.
White privilege is being able to convince white women who don't even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because suddenly your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a "second look."
White privilege is being able to fire people who didn't support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.
White privilege is when you can take nearly twenty-four hours to get to a hospital after beginning to leak amniotic fluid, and still beviewed as a great mom whose commitment to her children is unquestionable, and whose "next door neighbor" qualities make her ready to be VP, while if you're a black candidate for president and you let your children be interviewed for a few seconds on TV, you're irresponsibly exploiting them.
White privilege is being able to give a 36 minute speech in which you talk about lipstick and make fun of your opponent, while laying out no substantive policy positions on any issue at all, and still manage to be considered a legitimate candidate, while a black person who gives an hour speech the week before, in which he lays out specific policy proposals on several issues, is still criticized for being too vague about what he would do if elected.
White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God's punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you're just a good church-going Christian, but if you're black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department ofDefense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you're an extremist who probably hates America.
White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked bya reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a "trick question," while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O'Reilly means you're dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.
White privilege is being able to go to a prestigious prep school, then to Yale and then Harvard Business school, and yet, still be seen as just an average guy (George W. Bush) while being black, going to a prestigious prep school, then Occidental College, then Columbia, and then to Harvard Law, makes you "uppity," and a snob who probably looks down on regular folks.
White privilege is being able to graduate near the bottom of your college class (McCain), or graduate with a C average from Yale (W.)and that's OK, and you're cut out to be president, but if you're black and you graduate near the top of your class from Harvard Law, you can't be trusted to make good decisions in office.
White privilege is being able to dump your first wife after she's disfigured in a car crash so you can take up with a multi-millionaire beauty queen (who you go on to call the c-word in public) and still be thought of as a man of strong family values, while if you're black and married for nearly twenty years to the same woman, your family is viewed as un-American and your gestures of affection for each other are called "terrorist fist bumps."
White privilege is being able to sing a song about bombing Iran and still be viewed as a sober and rational statesman, with the maturity to be president, while being black and suggesting that the U.S. should speak with other nations, even when we have disagreements with them, makes you "dangerously naive and immature."
White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism and an absent father is apparently among the "lesser adversities" faced by other politicians, as Sarah Palin explained in her convention speech.
And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren't sure about that whole "change" thing.
Ya know, it's just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain. White privilege is, in short, the problem.
Source: http://www.blogger.com/.
Friday, September 5, 2008
A very different convention
Life’s been kind of busy this week in AuntieM-land. So much has happened that I wanted to document but this is the first time since early in the week that I’ve had more than 10 minutes at my computer. So here are my impressions of the RNC (the Really Nasty Convention) and assorted other timely items.
Yes, I sat glued to the RNC for three whole evenings, watching the expanded coverage on cable news, not the paltry hour-long network coverage. It took a lot of self-control to watch as much as I did, because my temper kept rising at all the mean-spirited insults being hurled at Obama. I did it though, because it is important to me to listen to opposing viewpoints instead of proceeding blindly down my own path, which it itself would be an exercise in prejudice. It is vital to listen to many perspectives before forming your own, and then to continue to listen to other perspectives with an open mind. You'll either gain new ideas and information which may cause you to reasses your positions, or at the very least you'll be better informed as to the arguements posed by those who oppose your views.
Hubby and I watched the first two nights together and kept each other amused with our running commentary. On Thursday Hubby had to work, and my friend M and her son K invited me to their house to watch the show and eat cheesy pizza in honor of a cheesy speech from McCain. We had a wonderful time. I brought some munchies designed specifically for the occasion: wrinkly dried fruits for dried-up old McCain and a can of mixed nuts to represent the rest of the convention. I’m now calling that particular mix SnarkySnax.
For those of you who don’t know me personally, I’m afraid I do have a bit of a potty mouth. That’s one reason Hubby and I don’t have a parrot – we don’t know which words a parrot would pick up. I’m pretty good about controlling myself in professional situations and around kids, and I believe using profanity in written communication weakens the effectiveness of your message, but last night sent me right over the edge. After a while I simply had to stop saying “****… sorry K” over and over, because it was wearing thin. I doubt he heard anything from me that he hasn’t heard before. We had a wonderful time watching the speeches, commenting on what was being said and exchanging terrorist fist jabs.
How DARE Giuliani and Palin criticize Obama for working as a Community Organizer? Do they even know what a Community Organizer does? Let me tell you, Community Organizers deserve tremendous respect because they earn a pittance for going out into dicey areas to reach out to people who need help but may not know that help is available or where to get it. Working as a Community organizer is physically and emotionally demanding and draining that involves placing oneself in possible danger, all for the sake of contacting people in need one-on-one and seeing that they get the help they need. This job requires a serious dedication to and concern for the welfare of others, and requires one to place the welfare of others ahead of one’s own. Community organizers have my deepest respect and admiration, and I’d bet just about anything that neither Giuliani nor Palin could make it through one single shift of that job! They’d chicken out and run away screaming.
Gee, if I put on some lipstick and start spewing nasty, mean-spirited stuff about those who are way more qualified than me, can I be a hockey mom too??? Pit bull with lipstick, that’s a great image for Palin since she’s ready to be McCain’s lap dog and do his bidding.
Giuliani 9/11 spoke 9/11 for 9/11 way 9/11 too 9/11 long 9/11 and 9/11 all 9/11 that 9/11 he 9/11 said 9/11 came 9/11 right 9/11 back 9/11 to 9/11 the 9/11 same 9/11 topic 9/11: (I’m not going to continue doing that, you get my point) Fearmongering over terrorism and references to 9/11, trying to scare folks into supporting a truly fearsome ticket. That’s all they’ve got, the Republican cabinet is bare otherwise.
Did you notice the chants that went up during Giuliani’s speech when he mentioned opening up the ANWR and protected offshore areas for oil drilling? The crowd started chanting “Drill baby, drill!” I thought I was going to be sick. Yeah, let’s go ahead and trash this planet because by the time our actions come back to us we’ll be dead and gone to our heavenly reward, let future generations figure out what to do to clean up our messes. Or maybe they think the world is going to end soon anyway so why bother conserving any natural resources or protecting the planet for the future? If that’s their take, then it’s a self-fulfilling prophesy, but it will be carried out at the hands of mankind, not by God.
How can any reasonably intelligent person continue to deny the existence and effects of global warming? Oh, wait, I’m not sure that Palin or McCain fall into the category of reasonably intelligent. Never mind, strike that question.
Ground noise and static: those were the new names M and I took last night, straight out of McCain’s speech. He said something about the audience being distracted by “ground noise and static”, meaning the five separate times his speech was interrupted by protesters. How they got past security I’ll never know but my hat’s off to them for their ingenuity and determination. I’m sure they all got arrested, we saw the security guards swoop in, confiscate their signs and usher them out of the arena. I was so pleased that the station we were watching (PBS) aired these scenes, don’t know if the commercial networks did. I’m sure Faux News didn’t. McCain was thrown off his stride so badly that he practically yielded the floor to them. He might as well have walked off the stage and gone back to the green room for a snack and a nap. His speech was as good as over, because the protesters stole the show.
What’s wrong with Cindy McCain’s right hand? Did you notice during her speech as she was holding the microphone that her hand was purple and immobile? And at the end of the festivities when she and John were shaking hands with the crowd she used her left hand instead of her right. A few days ago my manager said she noticed that Cindy McCain was wearing a pink cast on her right wrist and forearm, and asked me if I knew what happened to her. She said her first, instinctive reaction was to ask if it was a domestic violence injury, because she used to work domestic violence cases. I haven’t had a chance to research this question, but if anyone knows anything I’d appreciate if you’d pass on your info. Personally I thought Cindy McCain looked a little stoned last night, as if she was on some heavy painkillers or something. Her speech had a rambling, disjointed quality about it. Yes, she read from the teleprompter all right, but she might as well have been reading a bedtime story instead of a political speech. Face it, she’s McCain’s trophy wife and she’s only there for show, she’s not intended to perform any significant function.
The RNC itself was pretty pathetic, when compared with the DNC. Here in Denver we could have easily filled both the Pepsi Center and Invesco Field 20 times over with all of the folks who wanted to attend. The Republicans, in contrast, had so many empty seats that it was simply embarassing for them. Hopefully that's indicative of how few people actually want to align themselves with the Republican brand of hatred and intolerance. We can only hope.
I don’t know about you but I’m getting completely sick and tired of McCain’s self-proclaimed “maverick” stuff. What does he mean by that anyway? I know he’s intending it to be a positive characteristic, but calling himself a maverick without clarifying his interpretation of the term is meaningless. The Encarta Dictionary definition of “maverick” is: 1) independent person, an independent thinker who refuses to conform to the accepted views on a subject; 2) unbranded animal, especially a calf that has become separated from its mother and herd. By convention, it can become the property of whoever finds it and brands it.” So are we to assume that McCain is using the first definition and trying to stress his independence and refusal to conform to accepted views of his party? Not likely, considering McCain himself admits that he has voted in accordance with Bush’s views more than 90% of the time. Maybe he’s using the second definition of “maverick” and telling us that he is the property of the GOP because he’s certainly displaying their brand, philosophically if not physically. Language can be a slippery thing, and it’s important to clarify terms to make sure we’re all talking about the same thing.
Continual repetition of a term or concept (like McCain as a maverick) is actually a form of brainwashing. I think the theory is that if people hear it enough times they begin to believe it's true, regardless of how much sense it actually makes or whether it has any meaning. So if I start a nationwide media campaign calling myself a supermodel and repeat that message so many times that people just can't stand it anymore, does that make me a real supermodel? Not hardly. Even if a bunch of brainwashed people respond involuntarily to the name AuntieM by saying "she's a supermodel", that still doesn't make it true, it's reminiscent of Pavlov's dogs salivating whenever a bell was rung. Simple behavioral conditioning, nothing more. And I'm pretty offended by a candidate and a campaign that attempts to condition me like a dog.
Did you know that Palin tried to get certain books banned from libraries in Alaska because a librarian found that they contained offensive language. Don’t know which books she had a problem with, or what sort of “offensive language” was involved, but it’s all a sign of fascism, and we sure don’t need to put a fascist in office.
We especially don’t need a vice president with fascist beliefs in the #2 spot for the oldest newly-inaugurated president in history, which McCain will be if (goddess forfend!) he’s elected. McCain’s health record is scary – he had malignant skin cancer (melanoma) which has recurred twice. Those of you who have read this blog for a while know that this is the type of cancer that killed my mom, and you may remember the long post I wrote about just what melanoma does and how quickly it moves. If McCain was diagnosed with a recurrence today, odds are that he would not have long to live. When a melanoma recurs and is anywhere past the very earliest stages, the mean survival time is 6 months.
I know I shouldn’t throw this in because I agree that families should be off-limits, but when a candidate presents herself as such a sanctimoniously perfect mom, and incontrovertable evidence points to the fact that her beliefs and tactics are dismal failures, they should be dragged out into the light. I’m talking about Palin’s opposition to teaching sex ed in schools and her complete reliance on “abstinence-only” programs and education. Look how well that approach worked for her daughter Bristol… another casualty of the abstinence-only movement.
Achieving peace through war is an oxymoron. This boggled my mind until, in a brilliant flash of insight (if I do say so myself) I figured out McCain’s plan for peace: if we go to war with and conquer every other nation on the planet, then there will be peace. Funny, I think that was Hitler’s strategy too.
M and K told me something that left my jaw dragging on the floor. Apparently the Palin folks have already settled the procedural question of what title to give the husband of a female VP: “First Dude”. I think I’m going to hurl.
Overall, after comparing the speeches of Obama and Biden to those of McCain and Palin, I am now ready to present the following comparison:
- McCain and Palin’s speeches focused primarily on the past, with Palin telling her family history and McCain returning again and again and again to his time in Viet Nam. These personal stories don’t give us any indication of how well they’d perform the duties of President and Vice President, they only attempt to play on our emotions and bury our crucial questions and critical opinions in schmaltz.
- Obama and Biden’s speeches focused primarily on the future as they laid out the problems they see in this country and discussed how they will address them and work to improve this country. They tackled specific, tough issues without fear, reservation or dissembling, and they invited participation by people of all political beliefs because they understand that it is possible to find common ground and a common goal to work toward.
- McCain and Palin traded on fear and the spectre of future terrorist attacks, because they don’t have anything else in their arsenal. They want to continue the “more of the same” policies of the failed Bush presidency because they don’t have any other ideas, or their handlers have an agenda that these detrimental policies serve.
- Obama and Biden present a hopeful view of the future, one in which we can utilize both existing and new energy sources, not just to break our dependence on foreign oil, but to break our dependence on oil, period. They understand that we cannot build a 21st century society on the framework of the 19th century technology of internal combustion. They present a future in which US innovation in clean energy will create good jobs for Americans, jobs that will rebuild our country in a green model and provide a secure future for subsequent generations because we’re going to stop trashing our planet. They present a peaceful outlook for our country, between withdrawing US troops from Iraq and opening up negotiations to improve the US’s standing in the international community. Other countries have got to be getting sick and tired of our bullying, and Obama and Biden know it’s got to stop now. They present a future in which health care and higher education will be available to all, not just the privileged. A future worth working toward.
Peace,
AuntieM
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Dirty old man for President!
Geez, I take a long weekend and all hell breaks loose on the political front. Yesterday Hubby and I got a rare chance to enjoy one of Denver’s annual street fairs, the Taste of Colorado. It’s a huge, four-day event held every Labor Day weekend, a food festival like none I’ve ever seen before. The way it works is there are dozens of restaurants that set up booths and offer limited menus of some of their best dishes. You can get either a full portion or a taste. The proportions are like this – if the food in question is chicken nuggets, six would be a full serving, one would be a taste. Food is purchased using tickets that you buy at booths scattered around the park, so there’s no worry about correct change at the vendor stands. Entry to the event is free. You can graze your way around Civic Center Park for four whole days if you want. You can drink your way around the park too – lots of beer and wine stands. There are also vendors of every type you can imagine, a carnival ride area for kids, and culinary demonstrations by area chefs. Oh yeah, a good time was definitely had by all.
Even in the middle of tens of thousands of people, political controversy was drawn to me like a moth to a flame. Yes, I was wearing an Obama t-shirt, as was Hubby. That was part of the fun – wear partisan political attire to a very crowded event and judge the reaction. The result of our extremely unofficial poll: Obama should win by a landslide.
Anyway, in the middle of this a guy I’d never seen before rushed up to me to tell me about Sarah Palin’s daughter’s pregnancy. There’s so much I could say about it, there’s so much I want to say about it. But since Barack Obama has stated the families should be off-limits, I’ll confine my comments to Sarah and not her daughter Bristol, except to express my deepest sorrow that this girl has either been brainwashed into thinking this pregnancy is a good thing, or has been forced by her ultra-conservative mother to “pay for her sins” or some such crap. Bristol looks so sad. I feel sorry for her. Her life is over before it even begins, the only questions is does she realize it yet?
Instead of lambasting Bristol’s character and behavior, which, let’s face it, aren’t all that unusual in our society today, I’ll keep the remainder of my criticisms focused squarely on Sarah Palin. What kind of mother could actually believe that once her pregnant 17 year old daughter is married, everything will be fine? According to Sarah Palin, she says she expects her daughter and the father of the baby to have a good life together. How? That’s certainly not the norm for pregnant teens, assuming the father is of similar age.
The ultra-conservative right-to-lifers are beside themselves with excitement over Bristol’s pregnancy. They’re scary. Let’s face it, so’s Sarah. Doesn’t she remind you of a Stepford wife?
Here’s something Sarah Palin can’t hide behind a black dress and a baby- Troopergate. I guess it’s officially a scandal now that it has its own title. She tried to get her ex-brother-in-law fired for divorcing her sister, a sadly petty abuse of her power as governor. Is this the type of person we want one step away from the Oval Office? Especially with McCain being 72 years old now? I’d hate to take the chance that he falls and breaks a hip and dies, and leaves know-nothing Palin in charge. That’s really scary.
I guess Sarah Palin had to break the news about her daughter because it was becoming painfully obvious. That black dress didn’t hide much, and using the baby as camouflage only made Bristol look even more pregnant by drawing the viewer’s attention to her midsection.
Another politically-charged encounter confirmed something Hubby and I noticed the day McCain presented Palin as his VP. Right there on the podium, in front of thousands of supporters and who knows how many news cameras, just as McCain ushered Palin to the microphone, he CHECKED OUT HER BUTT! I kid you not, he leered and stared at her rear for about 10 seconds. Here’s the link to the news footage, see for yourself. http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=98668&catid=139 Yeah, let’s elect the adulterous, dirty old man for president, he’s such a wonderful representative of the “family values party”.
We also had a great conversation with a former Hillary supporter who’s backing Obama. This gentleman was 70-ish, Caucasian, a veteran – in short, he could have been the poster boy for McCain’s prime demographic. He also said in no uncertain terms that the future of our country depends on McCain being defeated. He’s still pretty angry that Hillary wasn’t the nominee, and said with great conviction that Obama should have picked Hillary as his running mate. However, in his mind what’s done is done, and now it’s time to back the party. I could have hugged him.
So much to say, so little time...
The Republican National Convention is now in full swing after being paused due to Hurricane Gustav. Interesting now that things are settled, Bush isn't going to appear in person. The news says he'll speak via satellite, but this is the first time in decades that a sitting president hasn't attended his party's own convention. Wonder who finally figured out that Bu--sh-- is toxic to the campaign? I heard speculation that McCain is trying to distance himself from Bush to minimize the appearance that his administration will be Bush III. That's like one Siamese (okay, conjoined) twin saying to the other "I never want to see you again!"
Must go now, textbooks and the RNC are calling me. Studying is essential, and so is being familiar with the ways of one's enemy, so that's my agenda for this evening.
Peace,
AuntieM
Even in the middle of tens of thousands of people, political controversy was drawn to me like a moth to a flame. Yes, I was wearing an Obama t-shirt, as was Hubby. That was part of the fun – wear partisan political attire to a very crowded event and judge the reaction. The result of our extremely unofficial poll: Obama should win by a landslide.
Anyway, in the middle of this a guy I’d never seen before rushed up to me to tell me about Sarah Palin’s daughter’s pregnancy. There’s so much I could say about it, there’s so much I want to say about it. But since Barack Obama has stated the families should be off-limits, I’ll confine my comments to Sarah and not her daughter Bristol, except to express my deepest sorrow that this girl has either been brainwashed into thinking this pregnancy is a good thing, or has been forced by her ultra-conservative mother to “pay for her sins” or some such crap. Bristol looks so sad. I feel sorry for her. Her life is over before it even begins, the only questions is does she realize it yet?
Instead of lambasting Bristol’s character and behavior, which, let’s face it, aren’t all that unusual in our society today, I’ll keep the remainder of my criticisms focused squarely on Sarah Palin. What kind of mother could actually believe that once her pregnant 17 year old daughter is married, everything will be fine? According to Sarah Palin, she says she expects her daughter and the father of the baby to have a good life together. How? That’s certainly not the norm for pregnant teens, assuming the father is of similar age.
The ultra-conservative right-to-lifers are beside themselves with excitement over Bristol’s pregnancy. They’re scary. Let’s face it, so’s Sarah. Doesn’t she remind you of a Stepford wife?
Here’s something Sarah Palin can’t hide behind a black dress and a baby- Troopergate. I guess it’s officially a scandal now that it has its own title. She tried to get her ex-brother-in-law fired for divorcing her sister, a sadly petty abuse of her power as governor. Is this the type of person we want one step away from the Oval Office? Especially with McCain being 72 years old now? I’d hate to take the chance that he falls and breaks a hip and dies, and leaves know-nothing Palin in charge. That’s really scary.
I guess Sarah Palin had to break the news about her daughter because it was becoming painfully obvious. That black dress didn’t hide much, and using the baby as camouflage only made Bristol look even more pregnant by drawing the viewer’s attention to her midsection.
Another politically-charged encounter confirmed something Hubby and I noticed the day McCain presented Palin as his VP. Right there on the podium, in front of thousands of supporters and who knows how many news cameras, just as McCain ushered Palin to the microphone, he CHECKED OUT HER BUTT! I kid you not, he leered and stared at her rear for about 10 seconds. Here’s the link to the news footage, see for yourself. http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=98668&catid=139 Yeah, let’s elect the adulterous, dirty old man for president, he’s such a wonderful representative of the “family values party”.
We also had a great conversation with a former Hillary supporter who’s backing Obama. This gentleman was 70-ish, Caucasian, a veteran – in short, he could have been the poster boy for McCain’s prime demographic. He also said in no uncertain terms that the future of our country depends on McCain being defeated. He’s still pretty angry that Hillary wasn’t the nominee, and said with great conviction that Obama should have picked Hillary as his running mate. However, in his mind what’s done is done, and now it’s time to back the party. I could have hugged him.
So much to say, so little time...
The Republican National Convention is now in full swing after being paused due to Hurricane Gustav. Interesting now that things are settled, Bush isn't going to appear in person. The news says he'll speak via satellite, but this is the first time in decades that a sitting president hasn't attended his party's own convention. Wonder who finally figured out that Bu--sh-- is toxic to the campaign? I heard speculation that McCain is trying to distance himself from Bush to minimize the appearance that his administration will be Bush III. That's like one Siamese (okay, conjoined) twin saying to the other "I never want to see you again!"
Must go now, textbooks and the RNC are calling me. Studying is essential, and so is being familiar with the ways of one's enemy, so that's my agenda for this evening.
Peace,
AuntieM
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