U R right - Palin is just a prop
Posted By: nm on 2008-09-11
In Reply to: The big republican machine does not care....sm - oldtimer
z
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Boycott those who supported Prop 8
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_8_(2008)
Since Proposition 8 passed, several legal challenges to Proposition 8 have already been filed in California courts, and more than 40 state legislators filed a friend-of-the-court briefs to support legal efforts to void Proposition 8. A series of protests have spread across California, and are sweeping the country, and now they've moved onto the Internet with blacklists that are outing those who gave money to get Proposition 8 passed.
Reminiscent of Christian boycotts against companies who supported gay rights, and the ever popular War on _____ boycotts, now gay right activists are calling for the same action. Several new websites have launched that list all the names and businesses of all the donors. Evidently those who made political donations to Prop8 did not realize that their contributions are a matter of public record... or that publishing those records is legal.
http://electiontrack.com/
http://antigayblacklist.com/
Why blacks voted for Prop 8
Interesting column from the Times, written by a black. I bring this here just as a matter of interest. I found it to be quite interesting.
Op-Ed Columnist
Gay Marriage and a Moral Minority
By CHARLES M. BLOW
Published: November 29, 2008
We now know that blacks probably didn’t tip the balance for Proposition 8. Myth busted. However, the fact remains that a strikingly high percentage of blacks said they voted to ban same-sex marriage in California. Why?
There was one very telling (and virtually ignored) statistic in CNN’s exit poll data that may shed some light: There were far more black women than black men, and a higher percentage of them said that they voted for the measure than the men. How wide was the gap? According to the exit poll, 70 percent of all blacks said that they voted for the proposition. But 75 percent of black women did. There weren’t enough black men in the survey to provide a reliable percentage for them. However, one can mathematically deduce that of the raw number of survey respondents, nearly twice as many black women said that they voted for it than black men.
Why? Here are my theories:
(1) Blacks are much more likely than whites to attend church, according to a Gallup report, and black women are much more likely to attend church than black men. Anyone who has ever been to a black church can attest to the disparity in the pews. And black women’s church attendance may be increasing.
According to a report issued this spring by Child Trends, a nonprofit research center, weekly church attendance among black 12th graders rose 26 percent from 1993 to 2006, while weekly church attendance for white 12th graders remained virtually flat. In 2006, those black teenagers were nearly 50 percent more likely to attend church once a week than their white counterparts. And it is probably safe to assume that many of them were going to church with their mothers since Child Trends reported that around the time that they were born, nearly 70 percent of all black children were born to single mothers.
(2) This high rate of church attendance by blacks informs a very conservative moral view. While blacks vote overwhelmingly Democratic, an analysis of three years of national data from Gallup polls reveals that their views on moral issues are virtually indistinguishable from those of Republicans. Let’s just call them Afropublicrats.
(3) Marriage can be a sore subject for black women in general. According to 2007 Census Bureau data, black women are the least likely of all women to be married and the most likely to be divorced. Women who can’t find a man to marry might not be thrilled about the idea of men marrying each other.
Proponents of gay marriage would do well to focus on these women if they want to win black votes. A major reason is that black women vote at a higher rate than black men. In the CNN national exit poll, there were 40 percent more black women than black men, and in California there were 50 percent more. But gay marriage advocates need to hone their strategy to reach them.
First, comparing the struggles of legalizing interracial marriage with those to legalize gay marriage is a bad idea. Many black women do not seem to be big fans of interracial marriage either. They’re the least likely of all groups to intermarry, and many don’t look kindly on the black men who intermarry at nearly three times the rate that they do, according to a 2005 study of black intermarriage rates in the Wisconsin Law Review. Wrong reference. Don’t even go there.
Second, don’t debate the Bible. You can’t win. Religious faith is not defined by logic, it defies it. Instead, decouple the legal right from the religious rite, and emphasize the idea of acceptance without endorsement.
Then, make it part of a broader discussion about the perils of rigidly applying yesterday’s sexual morality to today’s sexual mores. Show black women that it backfires. The stigma doesn’t erase the behavior, it pushes it into the shadows where, devoid of information and acceptance, it become more risky.
For instance, most blacks find premarital sex unacceptable, according to the Gallup data. But, according to data from a study by the Guttmacher Institute, blacks are 26 percent more likely than any other race to have had premarital sex by age 18, and the pregnancy rate for black teens is twice that of white teens. They still have premarital sex, but they do so uninformed and unprotected.
That leads to a bigger problem. According to a 2004 report by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, black women have an abortion rate that is three times that of white women.
More specifically, blacks overwhelmingly say that homosexuality isn’t morally acceptable. So many black men hide their sexual orientations and engage in risky behavior. This has resulted in large part in black women’s becoming the fastest-growing group of people with H.I.V. In a 2003 study of H.I.V.-infected people, 34 percent of infected black men said they had sex with both men and women, while only 6 percent of infected black women thought their partners were bisexual. Tragic. (In contrast, only 13 percent of the white men in the study said they had sex with both men and women, while 14 percent of the white women said that they knew their partners were bisexual.)
So pitch it as a health issue. The more open blacks are to the idea of homosexuality, the more likely black men would be to discuss their sexual orientations and sexual histories. The more open they are, the less likely black women would be to put themselves at risk unwittingly. And, the more open blacks are to homosexuality over all, the more open they are likely to be to gay marriage. This way, everyone wins.
Prop 8 --- majority rules problem...(sm)
Okay, I've seen several posts on here about how Prop 8 should be upheld because *the majority rules.* Almost every civil rights movement that was successful including the right for women to vote, the right for inter-racial marriage, etc would have never made it if we had gone by the idea that the majority rules. In fact, isn't that the point of civil rights? -- to protect minorities? Also, the constitution says *we the people,* not we the christians. ARRRRGGGGHHH!
Oh, don't forget about the Obama puppy!! Prop & MASCOT!
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Exposed: Prop. 8 part of 'Christian Taliban's' move to make Bible the law
The Protect Marriage Coalition, which led the fight to pass an anti-gay marriage initiative in California, is now suing to shield its financial records from public scrutiny.
The lawsuit claims that donors to Protect Marriage and a second group involved in the suit have received threatening phone calls and emails. It asks for existing donation lists to be removed from the California secretary of state's website and also seeks to have both plaintiffs and all similar groups be exempted in the future from ever having to file donation disclosure reports on this or any similar campaigns.
Although public access advocates believe this sweeping demand for donor anonymity has little chance of success, it does point up the secretive and even conspiratorial nature of much right-wing political activity in California.
Howard Ahmanson and Wayne C. Johnson
The man who more than any other has been associated with this kind of semi-covert activity over the past 25 years is reclusive billionaire Howard Ahmanson.
Ahmanson is a Christian Reconstructionist, a devout follower of the late R.J. Rushdoony, who advocated the replacement of the U.S. Constitution with the most extreme precepts of the Old Testament, including the execution -- preferably by stoning -- of homosexuals, adulterers, witches, blasphemers, and disobedient children.
Ahmanson himself has stated, "My goal is the total integration of biblical law into our lives."
As absurd as this Reconstructionist agenda may seem, the success of Proposition 8 demonstrates the ability of what is sometimes called the "Christian Taliban" to pursue its covert objectives behind the screen of seemingly mainstream initiatives and candidates.
Ahmanson's role in promoting Proposition 8 has drawn a lot of attention, but he appears to serve primarily as the money man, leaving his associates to carry out the practical details. One name in particular stands out as Ahmanson's chief lieutenant: political consultant Wayne C. Johnson, whose Johnson Clark Associates (formerly Johnson & Associates) coordinated the Proposition 8 campaign.
Johnson has spent many years working for Ahmanson-funded causes -- such as the battle against a 2004 initiative to promote stem cell research -- and organizations, like the anti-spending California Taxpayer Protection Committee.
Johnson Clark has also operated PACs for many candidates supported by Ahmanson. It ran Rep. John Doolittle's leadership PAC, which became notorious for sending a 15% commission to Doolittle's wife out of every donation received. It currently runs the PAC for Rep. Tom McClintock, a strong Proposition 8 supporter who was narrowly elected last fall to succeed the scandal-plagued Doolittle.
Proposition 8
The series of events leading to the approval of Proposition 8 began in 2000 with the passage of Proposition 22, which defined marriage in California as being solely between one man and one woman -- but did so only as a matter of law and not as a constitutional amendment.
Proposition 22 was quickly challenged in court, leading to the creation by its supporters of the the Proposition 22 Legal Defense Fund. In 2003, Johnson Clark Associates registered the domain ProtectMarriage.com on behalf of that fund.
ProtectMarriage.com began campaigning in early 2005 for an initiative that would add its restrictive definition of marriage to the California constitution, but it failed to gather sufficient signatures and was terminated in September 2006.
In 2008, however, a reborn ProtectMarriage.com, flush with nearly a million dollars in funding from Howard Ahmanson and tens of millions from other doners, succeeding in getting Proposition 8 placed on the ballot and approved by 52% of the voters.
Proposition 8 is now California law -- at least for the moment, pending challenges to its constitutionality -- and ProtectMarriage.com has turned its attention to demanding that all 18,000 existing same-sex marriages be declared invalid.
The Ahmanson-Johnson Strategy
The partnership between Ahmanson and Johnson, however, did not begin in 2003 or even in 2000. It goes back to at least 1983, if not earlier, and has been a continuing factor in California politics for the last 25 years.
In a 1994 article on Christian Reconstructionism, Public Eye described Johnson's central role in an Ahmanson-financed attempt by the Christian Right to take control of the California state legislation. The strategy involved first pushing through a term limits initiative, which was accomplished in 1990, and then promoting its own candidates for the seats this opened up:
"The practical impact of term limits is to remove the advantage of incumbency ... which the extreme Christian Right is prepared to exploit. ... At a Reconstructionist conference in 1983, Johnson outlined an early version of the strategy we see operating in California today. ... The key for the Christian Right was to be able to: 1) remove or minimize the advantage of incumbency, and 2) create a disciplined voting bloc from which to run candidates in Republican primaries, where voter turn out was low and scarce resources could be put to maximum effect. ...
"Since the mid-1970s, the extreme Christian Right, under the tutelage of then-State Senator H. L Richardson, targeted open seats and would finance only challengers, not incumbents. By 1983, they were able to increase the number of what Johnson called 'reasonably decent guys' in the legislature from four to 27. At the Third Annual Northwest Conference for Reconstruction in 1983, Johnson stated that he believed they may achieve 'political hegemony. . .in this generation.'"
The mention of H. L. "Bill" Richardson as the originator of the Johnson-Ahmanson strategy is both eye-catching and significant. Richardson, a former John Birch Society member, was considered to be one of the most extreme right-wing politicians of his time. In 1975, he co-founded Gun Owners of America (GOA), an organization which is widely regarded as being well to the right of the National Rife Association.
Wayne Johnson began his political career in 1976 by working for Richardson -- and Johnson Clark Associates still operates a PAC for GOA's state affiliate, the Gun Owners of California Campaign Committee.
In 1992, Johnson and Ahmanson managed to help send a batch of conservative Republicans to Congress. Foremost among these was Richard Pombo, one of whose first acts after taking office was to introduce a resolution of commendation for the Reconstructionist Chalcedon Foundation.
In 2004, Johnson told an interviewer that Pombo's election was a high point of his political career. "There have been a lot of great moments, but Richard Pombo's 1992 upset victory in his first congressional primary has got to be near the top. The television stations didn't even have his name listed on their pre-programmed screens election night. Today, he's chairman of the House Resources Committee."
Two years after Johnson's enthusiastic declaration, Pombo was defeated by a Democratic challenger, following wide-ranging allegation of corruption, including being named as the Congressman who had received more donations from Jack Abramoff than any other.
The Anti-Homosexual Agenda
Although the Christian Right never achieved its original goal of taking over California state government -- which may be why Ahmanson and Johnson have turned their attention to passing socially conservative initiatives instead -- it has been far more successful in establishing dominance over that state's Republican Party.
In 1998, Mother Jones reported:
"First they packed the then-moderate California Republican Assembly (CRA), a mainstream caucus with a heavy hand in the state party's nominating process, with their Bible-minded colleagues. By 1990 they controlled the CRA, and since then the CRA's clout has helped the religious conservatives nominate and elect local candidates and—crucially—catapult true believers into state party leadership slots. ...
"From radical fringe to kingmakers in a decade — how did they do it? 'Basically, there's two places you have influence: one is in the nominating process in the primaries, where you can elect people in ideological agreement with your views, and the other is in the party structure,' says former CRA vice president John Stoos, a former gun lobbyist, member of the fundamentalist Christian Reconstructionist movement, and senior consultant to the State Assembly."
Stoos appears to come out of precisely the same background as Johnson and Ahmanson. He served as the executive director of Gun Owners of California and was also the chief of staff and a legislative advisor to Tom McClintock from 1998 until 2003, when he got into trouble for his over-the-top Reconstructionist sentiments.
In the Mother Jones interview, Stoos referred to Christian politicians as God's "vice-regents ... those who believe in the Lordship of Christ and the dominion mandate" and pointed to the repeal in the 1970's of laws against homosexual acts as an example of the need for rule by "biblical justice."
"The proof is in the pudding," Stoos told Mother Jones. "Since we lifted those laws, we've had the biggest epidemic in history."
To many who voted for it, Proposition 8 may have been no more than a nostalgic attempt to keep a changing world more like the way it used to be. But for Reconstructionists like Ahmanson, Johnson, and Stoos, it clearly represents something else -- a dramatic first step towards "the total integration of biblical law into our lives."
Sarah Palin fans are as whack as Palin.
Even John McCain's top adviser referred to Sarah Palin as a whack job.
Vote McCain and Palin! -oh and why does Palin
nm
Palin over Biden any day. Make fun of Palin all you
nm
Sarah Palin makes Sarah Palin look stupid!
The Democrats did not make Sarah Palin look stupid. Sarah Palin does a fine job of looking stupid without help from anyone. All she has to do is open her mouth!
Palin might not have taken it anywhere
but it is not her job to seek taking books off shelves, period. And you don't know if this is "political crap" or not because the media has not been permitted to ask her any questions. Once voters get these answers, then they will have the necessary information with which to make a decision as to whether or not this is who we/they want in office. I, for one, am not going to skew her with a pitchfork or defend her as I have no information with which to do so, either way. I need answers to these questions that have been floating out there. Questions and answers are very important in our form of government called democracy which is for the people, of the people and by the people. Freedom comes with a gigantic amount of responsibility, is not to be taken lightly, and is very fragile.
and Palin
accused Hillary of whining when she protested. Talk about unity among women.
What Palin said is exactly right....
we haven't fought Iraqis since Baghdad fell. We have been fighting the insurgency "Al Qaeda In Iraq" since then. And if I am not mistaken, AL Qaeda was responsible for 9-11.
It appears there are others than Sarah Palin who are "clueless."
Sarah Palin is not running for President. Obama is. ANd he has been running for 18 months. If he had done an interview 3 weeks into it, he would have done no better than she did, and probably worse.
lol.
Why would Palin do this? sm
She banned reporters from her 1st meeting with world leaders. Only allowed access to photographers and a television crew. I'm just curious as to if anybody read as to why.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080923/ap_on_el_pr/palin_leaders
Now if only Palin would say....
for the love of Pete.....LOL! I say that all the time and get teased horribly for it. 
Palin
Palin has many shady contacts also:
She has backed the Alaska Independence Party. Its platform calls for the defense of "states rights," to "seek the complete repatriation of the public lands, held by the federal government, to the state and people of Alaska in conformance with Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17, of the federal constitution." Basically, the AIP wants a vote on secession. The AIP says that Gov. Sarah Palin used to be a member of the party. Earlier this year, Palin recorded a welcoming address to the AIP's convention.
Officials of the Alaskan Independence Party say that Palin was once so independent, she was once a member of their party, which, since the 1970s, has been pushing for a legal vote for Alaskans to decide whether or not residents of the 49th state can secede from the United States.
And while McCain's motto -- as seen in a new TV ad -- is "Country First," the AIP's motto is the exact opposite -- "Alaska First -- Alaska Always."
In an interview of extremists Mark Chryson and Steve Stoll helped launch Palin’s political career in Alaska, and in return had influence over policy. “Her door was open,” says Chryson — and still is.
So, this is group is just one of her past supporters. They helped her get where she is today. And dont even get me started on McCain.
Palin
Just dont try to marry into her family and then divorce because then she will come after you with all her power that the VP will give her. Talk about abuse of power! They they flat out refuse to testify? I didnt know anyone had that right.
Palin
Because SHE wanted to be there.
What exactly is it about Palin you don't like?
I like the fact that Mccain chose her after only meeting her once or twice. If he had chosen someone he has known for 20 years or so or someone he is buddies with, everyone would have jumped on him for choosing a friend.
And please don't get on about how she talks, etc., (not just saying this to you gourdpainter, to everyone) how many people have actually looked past how she talks and what she has named her children to what her stance is on the issues?
You can make fun of her for saying seeing Russia from Alaska is foreign policy experience (she WAS joking!) but then Obama turned around and said there are 57 states... they all make gaffes.
I think that she is a strong woman and she has a good moral base. Yes, her daughter got pregnant, but really, did you all listen to your moms on everything? I know when I was a teenager I went to parties, drank, smoked, even though my mommy told me not too. You can tell your children everything, but believe me, they aren't going to listen to you! Not until they hit about 22 and go "oh crap, mom and dad WERE RIGHT!"
The fact that she brought her Down syndrome child into the world just shows how much love she has. It's nice to see her husband is so active in the raising of their children. I know quite a few dads who aren't. It goes to show she will have a good support group if she becomes VP.
As for her experience, we obviously need to throw the experience argument out this election since Biden and Mccain are about equal and Obama and Palin are about equal.
Also, everyone keeps talking about how they want change and don't want the same old politicians in the white house but then they want to harp on Palin and say "oh she was governor of Alaska, what does she know??" I think it would be refreshing to have someone that isn't from a big city and hasn't been in the Senate. I mean Biden has been there for what, ever? And so has Mccain. So maybe by having this "small town girl" to check him on some things will be good.
I think people just need to get off her case. Dems, if SNL was making fun of Obama every week, you would be furious, and a lot of people would claim racism, etc. I think it is sickening that ANY of our candidates have been reduced to a comedy routine in which they are portrayed in such a bad light. Regardless of what we think of them, our leaders need to be respected. If we can't respect them, then we need to vote them out.
I'm sorry, but if no one can admit that the liberal media has been very biased this election, they have been living under a rock. Even comedy shows, like SNL, Daily show, Colbert, etc have been very left sided. There is no longer any unbiased news. And then because maybe one or two sources go against the grain and lean right they are considered a poor source. That is totally unfair. We are supposed to believe everything the liberal news says, but not what the conservative news says? C'mon. You have to know by now when you watch the news NO MATTER WHO IS REPORTING you need to take it with a grain of salt!
Once again, this is no longer an election. It is a popularity contest. Sad.
Okay...first of all Palin can't
fart without the media reporting about it. LOL! I just do not see where you guys say she was being all sneaky. Did she steal the money from the RNC? NO....they gave it to her to buy clothes. Do you want a receipt of every thing the RNC has spent and who they have spent it on because if that is the case, we can request that of the DNC because I'm sure they have similar things they have paid for. At least Palin didn't say that the clothes were just in her closet like Obama said about Ayers just living in his neighborhood. I don't see where Palin has tried to hide anything and when it came out....she was honest about it. That is more than I can say for Mr. Obama who says he never heard Rev. Wright preach any message of hate in the 20 years he attended that church which is all I've ever heard out of Wright's mouth when he has been interviewed on TV.
Q&A re Palin
> > Question: What is America 's first line of missile
> > interceptor defense that protects the entire United States ?
> >
> > Answer: 49th Missile Defense Battalion of Alaska National Guard.
> >
> >
> >
> > Question: What is the ONLY National Guard unit on
> > permanent active duty?
> >
> > Answer: 49th Missile Defense Battalion of Alaska National Guard
> >
> >
> >
> > Question: Who is the Commander in Chief of the 49th Missile
> > Defense Battalion of Alaska National Guard?
> >
> > Answer: Governor Sarah Palin, Alaska
> >
> >
> >
> > Question: What U.S. governor is routinely briefed on
> > highly classified military issues, homeland security, and
> > counter terrorism?
> >
> > Answer: Governor Sarah Palin, Alaska
> >
> >
> >
> > Question: What U.S. governor has a higher classified
> > security rating than either candidate of the Democrat Party?
> > Answer: Governor Sarah Palin, Alaska
> >
> >
> > According to the Washington Post, she first met with McCain
> > in February, but nobody ever found out. This is a woman used
> > to keeping secrets. She can be entrusted with our national
> > security, because she already is.
> >
> > Now you know too, please, pass it on!
> >
> > ?
> >
> >
> >
> > Commander....
> >
> > 49th Missile Defense Battalion of Alaska National Guard
>
Go Palin ----NOT!
http://alaskareport.com/news98/x61620_rape_palin.htm
Maybe neither she nor Palin consider her to be in ...
"a fix." What if your daughter chose life? Gonna send her to Alaska to Palin?
What I see Palin as....
is an absolute insult to women in this country. She was simply put on the ticket to try to get Hillary supporters, and seemingly was okay with that. Women have worked just as hard as any other minority in this country for equality. Regardless of that, she ran on a ticket that did not support equal wages for equal work (check out McCain's record), was against choice when it came to abortion, would like to overturn R v Wade, and every time she opens her mouth ignorance abounds.
No, I don't want her to succeed because I would hate for any other country to think she is actually a portrayal of women in this country. She is an absolute joke.
Palin fun...(sm)
Point and click on everything -- several times (especially animals behind doors)
http://www.palinaspresident.us/
ROFL
Me Too -Go McCain and Palin!
nm
Palin does have brains.
She could not have gotten where she is today without having brains especially since she started in the PTA and moved up. She didn't have mommy or daddy in politics bringing her name up every chance they got. She is a very admirable women, IMHO. I would be very proud to have her as VP. A woman who can raise 5 kids and be a governor......that is just remarkable. I admire the way she still had her youngest son even though the doctors told her he would have Down syndrome. She isn't afraid to stand up for what she believes. She is more of a real person to me. She hunts, she is a hockey mom. She is no b!mbo. And lastly....she is a beautiful woman and I'm not just speaking about her outer appearance. She cares. She is for the people. I think McCain made a great choice when he picked her.
Go McCain and Palin 2008!!! 
Everyone is talking about Palin? NOT.
McCain's self-destructive stunt sucked the air out of nothing. The big speech is still resonating for those 84,000 who filled the seats of the Mile High stadium and the 38,000,000 TV viewing audience. We have all noticed the deafening silence from the McCain camp on the 19 points Obama raised in the big speech, which comes as no surprise since we are used to seeing republicans run in the opposite direction as fast as their feet can carry them when confronted with any sort of intellectual challenge. If you, your party and McCain want to make jokes instead of taking the real issues seriously, you will just be digging yourselves in deeper and deeper. In fact, let me loan you the shovel.
Just because you choose to wimp out in the face of intelligent dialogue on the very grave issues that our nation face, some of which have been raised in these posts, does not mean they have disappeared. It just means that they do not exist to you. All of the articulate posts that have appeared today have been ignored by the stupefied and responded to by the informed. The DNC does not have to tell PUMA anything, but the attitude behind such a comment is just another example of the misguided, miscalculated notions McCain employed when he made his VP selection. Then again, the republicans have always been a smug bunch who have a tendency to underestimate their opposition.
These are grown women (PUMA) who have minds of their own and have the sense to be just as insulted as the rest of our gender who are not supporting a party who will outsource their jobs 'til the cows come home, kill any initiatives that guarantee fair/equal pay for equal work, treat women like political cattle, use them as tokens to pump life into a dead campaign and select a woman who would submit herself to this blatant and transparent exploitation….all for the sake of a policy that would attempt to wrestle free choice away from women to control their own bodies and reproductive functions and cram right-wing Christian dogma down their throats.
Hillary supporters and women with brains don't take kindly to these policies, anymore than they subscribe to the NeoCon positions of the republicans' latest hand-picked celebrity. The hypocrisy is breath-taking. McCain has gambled away his experience card and his celebrity card and played the gender card, all the while accusing the Obama camp of playing the race card….a political stunt that is already backfiring right in his face, and we are only 36 hours into the aftermath.
Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin has just announced her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant and will be marrying the baby's father!
What I LIKE about Palin .... flame away
I like the fact that she is NOT a Washingtonian ..... Obama took a big hit with me - all that talk about change and then he picks Biden -- who has been in Washington most of his life, who does the Democrat double talk better than most!
I like the fact that she stands up for what she believes in and fights the big boys when necessary.
I like the fact she is a normal person .... sure, they have some money but .... she has problems and is dealing with them. Her husband is blue collar worker, and to me that is a plus.
Do I think she is ready to be VP? I have to do more thinking and soul searching about that ...
Be honest about it -- they both chose their running mates based on what they hoped would help them win the most votes ... not who they really wanted or thought was most qualified!!
I wanted a McCain/Lieberman ticket myself.
BUT....... she does NOT deserve the crap she is taking. That is what is wrong with politics in this country.
The people who COULD do the best job -- WON'T EVEN RUN. They won't subject themselves to the BS they have to endure .....
JMHO .. I will be watching, reading and listening over the next few months. Tough decisions to be made!
Go McCAIN and PALIN!
nm
Then we would be as well off with Palin as with Obama...
in fact, better. He doesn't have any foreign policy experience either...nor any executive experience...has never run anything in his life. He is a rookie on all levels. She has made executive decisions. She ran a state with a big state budget. She made executive decisions every day. Obama has made zero. She is already ahead of him. So...what was your point again?
Does this bother you about Palin?
The first time she applied for a passport was in 2007.
Palin/Biden
I don't know, I heard Obama denounce bringing the kids into the politics and he seemed pretty forceful and pretty snarly himself. My opinion is the kids ought to be off limits but when the candidates (both of them) trot them out, that takes the "hands off" out of play for me. They can't have it both ways. If they really care about the kids, leave them out of the spotlight TOTALLY. Although I admit the little girl licking her hand and smoothing the baby's hair was pretty endearing..............BUT fairplay, don't show that and then say that it isn't fair to talk about the unwed daughter's pregnancy....so leave her off the camera, don't trot in the boyfriend to participate too. Ridiculous!
Palin family...
They looked great to me. Cindy McCain reached for the child, it wasn't handed off to her. Bristol looked anything but terrified. She looked proud of her mother. And well she should be. She is running for VP of the United States. I thought it was especially sweet with the little girl licked her hand to smooth down the baby's cowlick. Circus freaks are the last words I would use to describe this family.
Palin not stonewalling....
In response to Palin’s statement that she had nothing to hide, in August 2008 the Alaska Legislature hired Steve Branchflower to investigate Palin and her staff for possible abuse of power surrounding the dismissal, though lawmakers acknowledge that “Monegan and other commissioners serve at will, meaning they can be fired by Palin at any time.”[52] The investigation is being overseen by Democratic State Senator Hollis French, who says that the Palin administration has been cooperating and thus subpoenas are unnecessary.[53] The Palin administration itself was the first to release an audiotape of Bailey making inquiries about the status of the Wooten investigation.[50][54]
Sarah Palin was asking because
the voters were concerned about the language in some of them and felt it inappropriate for their children. This was to help keep bad language away from children. Not get rid of them because a certain race, nationality, etc. wrote them. The Nazis burned books written by Jews. This is entirely different.
As for my supposed untruth about Obama being Muslim at one time:
Obama's Kenyan birth father: In Islam, religion passes from the father to the child. Barack Hussein Obama, Sr.
Obama's Indonesian family: His stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, was also a Muslim. In fact, as Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng explained to Jodi Kantor of the New York Times: "My whole family was Muslim, and most of the people I knew were Muslim." An Indonesian publication, the Banjarmasin Post reports a former classmate, Rony Amir, recalling that "All the relatives of Barry's father were very devout Muslims."
The Catholic school: Nedra Pickler of the Associated Press reports that "documents showed he enrolled as a Muslim" while at a Catholic school during first through third grades. Kim Barker of the Chicago Tribune confirms that Obama was "listed as a Muslim on the registration form for the Catholic school."
Koran class: In his autobiography, Dreams of My Father, Obama relates how he got into trouble for making faces during Koranic studies, thereby revealing he was a Muslim, for Indonesian students in his day attended religious classes according to their faith.
Mosque attendance: Obama's half-sister recalled that the family attended the mosque "for big communal events." Watson learned from childhood friends that "Obama sometimes went to Friday prayers at the local mosque." Barker found that "Obama occasionally followed his stepfather to the mosque for Friday prayers." One Indonesia friend, Zulfin Adi, states that Obama "was Muslim. He went to the mosque. I remember him wearing a sarong" (a garment associated with Muslims).
This along with his association with sketchy people including Ayers and his 20-year attendance to a church that promotes hates messages.....I feel I am justly right to be concerned about Obama and have reason to not trust him one iota.
I am not even religious. I like Palin because she is
nm
Palin - racist?
Alaskans Speak (In A Frightened Whisper): Palin Is “Racist, Sexist, Vindictive, And Mean”
 by Charley James –
“So Sambo beat the btch!”
This is how Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin described Barack Obama’s win over Hillary Clinton to political colleagues in a restaurant a few days after Obama locked up the Democratic Party presidential nomination.
According to Lucille, the waitress serving her table at the time and who asked that her last name not be used, Gov. Palin was eating lunch with five or six people when the subject of the Democrat’s primary battle came up. The governor, seemingly not caring that people at nearby tables would likely hear her, uttered the slur and then laughed loudly as her meal mates joined in appreciatively.
“It was kind of disgusting,” Lucille, who is part Aboriginal, said in a phone interview after admitting that she is frightened of being discovered telling folks in the “lower 48” about life near the North Pole.
Then, almost with a sigh, she added, “But that’s just Alaska.”
Racial and ethnic slurs may be “just Alaska” and, clearly, they are common, everyday chatter for Palin.
Besides insulting Obama with a Step-N’-Fetch-It, “darkie musical” swipe, people who know her say she refers regularly to Alaska’s Aboriginal people as “Arctic Arabs” – how efficient, lumping two apparently undesirable groups into one ugly description – as well as the more colourful “mukluks” along with the totally unimaginative “f**king Eskimo’s,” according to a number of Alaskans and Wasillians interviewed for this article.
But being openly racist is only the tip of the Palin iceberg. According to Alaskans interviewed for this article, she is also vindictive and mean. We’re talking Rove mean and Nixon vindictive.
No wonder the vast sea of white, cheering faces at the Republican Convention went wild for Sarah: They adore the type, it’s in their genetic code. So much for McCain’s pledge of a “high road” campaign; Palin is incapable of being part of one.
Tough Getting People Who Know Her to Talk
It’s not easy getting people in the 49th state to speak critically about Palin – especially people in Wasilla, where she was mayor. For one thing, with every journalist in the world calling, phone lines into Alaska have been mostly jammed since Friday; as often as not, a recording told me that “all circuits are busy” or numbers just wouldn’t ring. I should think a state that’s been made richer than God by oil could afford telephone lines and cell towers for everyone.
On a more practical level, many people in Alaska, and particularly Wasilla, are reluctant to speak or be quoted by name because they’re afraid of her as well as the state Republican Party machine. Apparently, the power elite are as mean as the winters.
“The GOP is kind of like organized crime up here,” an insurance agent in Anchorage who knows the Palin family, explained. “It’s corrupt and arrogant. They’re all rich because they do private sweetheart deals with the oil companies, and they can destroy anyone. And they will, if they have to.”
“Once Palin became mayor,” he continued, “She became part of that inner circle.”
Like most other people interviewed, he didn’t want his name used out of fear of retribution. Maybe it’s the long winter nights where you don’t see the sun for months that makes people feel as if they’re under constant danger from “the authorities.” As I interviewed residents it began sounding as if living in Alaska controlled by the state Republican Party is like living in the old Soviet Union: See nothing that’s happening, say nothing offensive, and the political commissars leave you alone. But speak out and you get disappeared into a gulag north of the Arctic Circle for who-knows-how-long.
Alright, that’s an exaggeration brought on by my getting too little sleep and building too much anger as I worked this article. But there’s ample evidence of Palin’s vindictive willingness to destroy people she sees as opponents. Just ask the Wasilla town administrator she hired before firing him because he rebelled against the way Palin demanded he do his job, or the town librarian who refused to hold the book burning Walpurgisnach Mayor Palin demanded.
Ironically, Palin was pushed into hiring the administrator by the party poobahs who helped get her elected after she got herself into trouble over a number of precipitous firings which gave rise to a recall campaign.
“People who fought her attempt to oust the librarian are on her enemies list to this day,” states Anne Kilkenny, a Wasilla resident and one of the few Alaskans willing to speak on-the-record, for attribution, about Palin. In fact, Kilkenny actually circulated an e-mail letter about Palin that was verified and printed by The Nation.
For good measure, Palin booted the Wasilla police chief from office because, she told a local newspaper, he “intimidated” her.
Running on Extreme Fringe Evangelical Views
Sarah Palin drew early attention from state GOP apparatchiks when, during her first mayoral campaign, she ran on an anti-abortion platform. Normally, political parties do not get involved in Alaskan municipal elections because they are nonpartisan. But once word of her extreme fringe evangelical views made its way to Juneau, the state capitol, state Republicans tossed some money behind her campaign.
Once in office, Palin set out to build a machine that chewed up anyone who got in her way. The good, Godly Christian turns out to be anything but.
“She’s doesn’t like different opinions and she refuses to compromise,” Kilkenny notes. “When she was mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t hers. Worse, ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits but on the basis of who proposed them.”
Sound familiar? Palin may well be Dik Cheney’s reincarnate.
Something else has a familiar Republican ring to it: Her tax policies, and a “refund surpluses but borrow for the future” attitude.
According to Kilkenny and others in Wasilla as well as Juneau, Palin reduced progressive property taxes for businesses while mayor and increased a regressive sales tax which even hits necessities such as food. The tax cuts she promoted in her St. Paul speech actually benefited large corporate property owners far more than they benefited residents. Indeed, Kilkenny insists that many Wasilla home owners actually saw their tax bill skyrocket to make up for the shortfall. Two other Wasillian’s with whom I spoke said property taxes on their modest, three bedroom homes rose during the Palin regime.
To an outsider, it would seem hard to do, but an oil-rich town with zero debt on the day she was inaugurated mayor was left saddled with $22 million of debt by the time she moved away to become governor – especially since nothing was spent on things such as improving the city’s infrastructure or building a much-needed sewage treatment plant. So what did Mayor Palin spend the taxpayer’s money on, if not fixing streets and scrubbing sewage?
For starters, she remodelled her office. Several times over, as a matter of fact.
Then Palin spent $1 million on an unnecessary, new park that no one other than the contractors and Palin seemed to want. Next, Sarah doled out more than $15 million of taxpayer money for a sports complex that she shoved through even though the city did not own clear title to the land; now, seven years later, the matter is still in litigation and lawyer fees are said to be close to at least half of the original estimated price of the facility.
She also worked hard to get voters approval of a $5.5 million bond proposal for roads that could have been built without borrowing. Anchorage may not be the center of the financial universe but, like good Republicans everywhere, Sarah Palin knows how to please Alaskan bankers and bond dealers.
For good measure, she turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores and disconnected parking lots.
Sarah Barracuda
En route to the governor’s igloo, Palin managed to land what Anne Kilkenny says is the plumb political appointment in the state: Chair of Alaska’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (OGCC), a $122,400 per year patronage slot with no real authority to do anything other than hold meetings. She took the job despite having no background in energy issues and, as it turned out, not liking the work.
“She hated the job,” an OGCC staff member who is not authorized to speak with the news media told me. “She hated the hours and she hated what little work there was to do. But she couldn’t figure out a way to get out of the thing without offending Gov. Murkowski” and the state Republican Party regulars, some of whom were pssed off they didn’t get appointed.
But ever the opportunist, Palin quickly concocted a way. First, she waged a campaign with the local news media claiming that the position was overpaid and should be abolished – despite the fact that she lobbied Murkowski hard to get it. Then, mounting what she saw as a white horse, Palin raised a cloud of dust by resigning from the OGCC and riding away with an undeserved reputation as a “reformer.”
But when a local reporter dared to suggest that the reformer Empress has no clothes, Palin tried to get her fired.
“She came at me like I was trying to steal her kids,” said the targeted reporter, who now works for an oil company in Anchorage. “I heard she had a wild temper and vicious mean streak but it’s nothing like you can imagine until she turns it on you.”
Not surprising since some of her high school classmates still openly call her “Sarah Barracuda,” Kilkenny insists.
Still, as a Republican Party hack Palin managed to get herself elected running under the false flag of a “reformer.”
And what did she bring to the job? No legislative experience other than a city council of a village of 5,000 people, which is smaller than some high schools in Chicago. Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; after all, she needed to hire a city administrator to run Wasilla. No executive experience, except for almost being recalled as mayor. A philosophy of setting public policy based on one word: No.
And what has she done since winning the job?
According to Kilkenny, nothing. Well, nothing other than suggesting the state’s multi-multi-million dollar, oil-generated surplus be distributed to residents and finance future state needs by borrowing money. Gee, doesn’t that sound precisely what George Bush did with the surplus he inherited from Bill Clinton in 2001 and we all know in what great shape Bush’s economic policies left the nation.
It may explain why, when asked by reporters, including me, what she thought about Palin being picked to be McCain’s running mate, her mother-in-law replied with a sardonic, “What has Sarah done to qualify her to be vice president?” Of course, when the woman – said by many I spoke with to be well-respected in Wasilla – was running to succeed Palin as mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her, so that may explain the family tension.
As Governor, Palin gave the legislature no direction and budget guidelines, according to the chair of a legislative committee. But then she staged a huge grandstand play of line-item vetoing countless projects, calling them pork. “They were restored because of public outcry and legislative action,” the aide said. “She vetoed them mostly because she had no idea what they were or why they were important.”
But it was enough to get the McCain, who is mostly unobservant of the world around him anyway, to think Palin has a reputation as being “anti-pork”.
In fact, Juneau observers note that Palin kept her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork ladled out by indicted Sen. Ted Stevens. She only opposed the “bridge to nowhere” after it became clear that it would be politically unwise to keep supporting it, these same insiders assert. Then, Palin fell back on her old habits and publicly humiliated him for pork-barrel politics.
As for being “ready on day one” to be commander in chief, despite the repeated public claims she’s made, the Alaska National Guard commander said that, “she has made no command decisions, other than sending some troops to help fight a few brush fires and march in parades at county fairs.”
“Sambo Beat the Btch”
“Palin is a conniving, manipulative, a**hole,” someone who thinks these are positive traits in a governor told me, summing up Palin’s tenure in Alaska state and local politics.
“She’s a bigot, a racist, and a liar,” is the more blunt assessment of Arnold Gerstheimer who lived in Alaska until two years ago and is now a businessman in Idaho.
Juneau is a small town; everybody knows everyone else,” he adds. “These stories about what she calls blacks and Eskimos, well, anyone not white and good looking actually, were around long before she became a glint in John McCain’s rheumy eyes. Why do I know they’re true? Because everyone who isn’t aboriginal or Indian in Alaska talks that way.”
“Sambo beat the btch” may be everyday language up in the bush. Whether it – and the outlook, politics and worldview Palin reflects when she says such things in public – should be part of a presidential campaign is another thing altogether. The comment says as much about McCain as it does about Palin, and it says a lot of things about Americans who overlook such statements (as well as her record) and vote anyway for McCain.
by Charley James
And McCain/Palin's could be
;D
Palin and cronyism. sm
Is it true or has anyone else read that when Palin was elected as gov. she fired people and hired friends, who otherwise would have no experience or credentials to do what they were hired for. The article I mentioned said at least 5 and it gave a specific incident of a friend she hired to run the $2-mill. Agriculture dept. This friend was previously a real estate agent and cited her qualifications as a "childhood love of cows". If this is true then Palin obviously is all for cronyism and I suspect that if they are elected it will be business as usual.
If this isn't true please site the link or source where it was refuted. There is so much crap out there that sometime it is really hard to know what is valid or not.
Pelosi and Palin
Nancy Pelosi has NO charisma but she is both knowledgeabe and competent. Both parties agree. Even the diehard Republlicans in both houses are embarrassed by John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin and many are now calling for her to be replaced. I genuinely feel badly for her.........she was chosen only to prove he is a "maverick" and did not strictly follow party lines.She was not given much time to prepare before being thrust in the spotlight. This will probably destroy what could have been a bright future for her.
Seriously, did anyone see her interview with Katie Couric? She has to get "her head arount Putin's"??? I was genuinely embarrassed for her.
 I also wondered can't she just look in his eyes like George Bushi did and see his soul?
Pelosi and Palin
I will NEVER post again to this board. Such vitriol from some of the posters and it is not worth it. I do not like the feeling of being attacked for a simple statement.
We all have our own personal beliefs and opinions.I am just wondering, though, how many people running for a powerful office are routinely filmed being blessed by their pastors for "protection against witches".
I also wonder how many "Christians" would slash their state's Special Olympic budget and then objectify their own special-needs child for political gain.
What a lot of pressure Palin had on her...sm
last night. I really feel sorry for her. She knew that John McCain was finished if she did not perform last night. Even though I am not a fan, as a woman, I was rooting for her. Me thinks the men of the party will discard her when she is no longer useful, i.e., a Democratic victory in November. I think she did her best, and considering everything, she did a good job. Now McCain needs to take control and tell us specifically why we should vote for him. I am looking forward to the next two debates.
McCain and Palin.......
No, I was talkig about "I'll help the poor, needy, and uneducated" Obama. That man is clueless as to what keeps most people poor, and I am NOT talking about those who really try and have fallen on hard times for reasons beyond their control.
I'm talking about the lazy souls that Obama knows will vote for him because they know he will continue the social programs, the free handouts, which will only continue to keep them poor and feeling entitled, with no motivation to do anything else for themselves. He talks a big talk like throwing more money at those kids is going to help their situation. He needs to get with the program...more money won't do a thing to help educate those children. Taking them from parents who are worthless might though, then the child might actually be able to make something of themselves and won't feel entitled and be fooled into those Obama scare tactics of how they NEED the government to take care of them. You better believe, millions will vote for him because they are afraid their monthly check might stop.
Palin is encouraging this...
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=2e893ff3-04bf-4184-8ab6-41fe69f75532
Not a Palin observer as you obviously are
xx
You seem to like Palin an awful lot....why
xx
Palin did further damage to herself by going on but sm
It was her choice. She contacted SNL and asked to go on. McCain made some comment about the vast amount of viewers and I guess they thought it was a great way to reach the public but in this case, you really don't want to reach the public by reminding them how you won't answer questions and how unqualified you are. It was just odd to see her there. She wasn't funny and she didn't do anything to help herself. Weird!
sorry, this goes under the palin SNL comment.nm
hate it when that happens
Sara Palin
is no Hillary Clinton!!!
McCain/Palin
I think Sarah Palin has a backbone and is very bright. I would much rather see her as president if something happened to McCain than Obama's pick for VP. Now, there you would have some trouble. Personally, the only thing that scares me about Obama, is his wife. She is a shark and cannot be trusted. Of course, none of them REALLY can be trusted. I am just stating my opinion. 
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