I wish I had the chance to interview Ms Bristol Palin.  As a newly crowned abstinence spokesperson, I’d love to ask her “So, are you saying that you wish you had waited to have sex and that having your baby was a mistake?”

Faced with this question, she has two outs: “No, it was right for me, but it’s wrong for you” or “Yes, I wish my kid was never born.”  It’s lose/lose, isn’t it?

Someone from my work thinks she’d play the religious right card and explain that “the Lord” put the challenge to her so that she would be able to share her experience and prevent further problems.  In short, according to him, “she’d find a way to blame God for it.”  By that rationale, is it fair for me to say “How about I smoke all the weed and then tell you all how bad it is?”

I wish people like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Joe the Plumber, and Sarah Palin much success. They are the best thing to happen to the Democratic party.

by pintomp3, seen on Digg

President Elect Obama

America chose HOPE over HATE.  As rabid Sarah Palin supporters chanted “Terrorist!” and “Kill him!”, Obama calming chided us to be above the name calling.  As Obama painted a picture of peace, neighborly goodwill, and hope, the opposing candidates painted a picture of war, terror, hate, and fear.  They spoke about Obama instead of what their actual plan was.  They spoke about Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright instead of about the issues.  They tried to convice us that Obama is anti-American and that he “pals around with terrorists.”  But it failed.  And their lies and hate became their downfall, as America promptly told them “Yes we can!” 

America chose PEACE over WAR.  Both literally, as we gaze towards Iraq and Afghanistan, but also as we realize that Obama’s television ads – at least here in Florida – were all about repairing the US and what Obama would do about it, while the McCain/Palin ads were almost exclusively negative ads about Obama.   I still know nothing about Sarah Palin other than the pre-packaged crap they wove together for the convention and what we pieced together from her string of embrassing interviews.

America chose COURAGE over FEAR.  Because, although right-wing brainwashers will try to convince you that wanting peace is weak, it takes a much bigger man to say it’s time to end the war in the name of security and bounty for our nation.  Because the enemy you know is always safer than the enemy you don’t.  Because while the Bush administration tried to scare you in conformity and constantly glancing over your shoulder, we know better.  We know that fear will destory us.  

And best of all, America chose HONOR over all else.  It’s no secret that the USA is now hated in many areas across the world.  And frankly, I began to believe that our best days were indeed behind us as we embarked on an impossible mission to “spread democracy,” themed by pre-emptive strike and racial profiling.   But the US is a powerful entity, and we’re not only aiming to reclaim our spot of the #1 place in the world, but also to inspire.   To give people faith. 

We’ve elected a leader who has, I think most will agree, has led one of the most faith-inspiring campaigns in history.  Whether you like his policies or not, he spoke to all Americans and asked them to have a little faith as we seek to rebuild over divided union.  There’s little doubt that his campaign of hope has been incredibly effective and resonated with people who have never voted in their lives. 

I believe Obama will change the world in unbelievable ways.  I believe that we have a charismatic leader the likes of which we haven’t seen since JFK.  I believe the US is ready to put aside the hatred and work together to restore our dignity in world view.  And I hope.

I hope.

I’m a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight…..

If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you’re ‘exotic’ and ‘different.’

Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, you’re an American story.

If your name is Barack you’re a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, and you’re a maverick.

Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.

Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, then you’re well- grounded.

If you spend 3 years as a community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, help register 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, 8 years as a State Senator of a district of   750,000 people, chair the state Senate’s Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people, sponsor 131 bills, and serve on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works, and Veteran’s Affairs committees, you don’t have any real leadership experience.

If your resume is:  local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town of 7,000 people, 2 years as governor of a state of 650,000 people, you’re qualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 daughters, all within Protestant churches,  you’re not a real Christian.

If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, left your ill wife, and married the heiress the next month, you’re a Christian.

If you teach responsible, age-appropriate sex education, including the use of birth control, you erode the fiber of American society.

If you staunchly advocate abstinence-only education, while your teen daughter ends up pregnant, you’re responsible.

If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, you don’t represent America’s family values.

If your husband is called ‘First Dude’, has a DWI conviction, didn’t register to vote until 25, and was a member of a group that advocated secession of Alaska from the USA, yours is the quintessential American family.

And, finally, if you’re famous for your quick temper, you’re the one to have your finger on the red nuclear button.

OK, much clearer now.

I’m not sure the source of this, but it sure makes an interesting read.

Mad Dog Palin

Choice words from the rollingstone.com article: 

Sarah Palin is a symbol of everything that is wrong with the modern United States. As a representative of our political system, she’s a new low in reptilian villainy, the ultimate cynical masterwork of puppeteers like Karl Rove. But more than that, she is a horrifying symbol of how little we ask for in return for the total surrender of our political power. Not only is Sarah Palin a fraud, she’s the tawdriest, most half-assed fraud imaginable, 20 floors below the lowest common denominator, a character too dumb even for daytime TV — and this country is going to eat her up, cheering her every step of the way. All because most Americans no longer have the energy to do anything but lie back and allow ourselves to be jacked off by the calculating thieves who run this grasping consumer paradise we call a nation.

Ouch.

COURIC: You’ve cited Alaska’s proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?

PALIN: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and on our other side, the land– boundary that we have with– Canada. It– it’s funny that a comment like that was– kind of made to– cari– I don’t know, you know? Reporters–

COURIC: Mock?

PALIN: Yeah, mocked, I guess that’s the word, yeah.

COURIC: Explain to me why that enhances your foreign policy credentials.

PALIN: Well, it certainly does because our– our next door neighbors are foreign countries. They’re in the state that I am the executive of. And there in Russia–

COURIC: Have you ever been involved with any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?

PALIN: We have trade missions back and forth. We– we do– it’s very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where– where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border. It is– from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there. They are right next to– to our state.

I am confident that should John McCain, whose examples of leadership almost universally appear to lie in the past, win the election, he will govern in a much more centrist fashion than he has suggested in the course of this campaign cycle.  Although I do not want John McCain to win the election, I do not fear his presidency.  But I am terrified of Sarah Palin representing our country.

This group is for anyone who wonders how in the hell the erstwhile governor of Alaska can simultaneously be:

A woman and anti-choice

A mother and pro-war

Anti-corruption and currently under investigation for abuse of power

A governor for 20 months and more experienced than Barack Obama

A foreign policy expert and a woman who only got her passport in July ‘07

A woman who is a “leader in climate change” and a woman who believes humans do not contribute to global warming, also a woman who shoots moose for fun and supports oil drilling in her state’s wildlife preserves.

From a family of educators and pro-creationism-in-the-classroom

The GOP’s responses to all of this?

“You get more experience to be president in a month of being governor that you do in several years of being a senator…Sarah Palin had more executive experience as the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, than Barack Obama has had in his entire life.” – Mike Huckabee

“Palin knows about foreign policy because Russia is right next door to Alaska.” – Steve Doocy

“Now, this establishes Undeniable Truth of Life Number 24, which says, ‘Feminism was established so as to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream of society.’ I guarantee you these messages Dawn is getting are probably pretty typical of liberal women across the country, and what it boils down to — you know it and I know it –is jealousy. They’re just jealous of her, Dawn. That’s it, pure and simple.” – Rush Limbaugh

OK. To sum up:

Being a senator doesn’t count, proximity to foreign countries constitutes foreign policy experience, and if you don’t like Sarah Palin you’re probably a whiny ugly shrew. Vote McCain-Palin! 

All of this ignores the craziness of her church.  The one that prides itself on “converting” gays and has been video taped with congregants writhing on the ground and speaking in tongues.  Is this truly someone we want shaping the world’s view of America?

Dear Barack,

Next time someone asks what you think of Sarah Palin, please don’t just call her a “skilled politician” with a “compelling biography.” Call her a liar, too. Here’s how that would work:

Reporter: What do you think of Sarah Palin?

You: She’s a skilled politician with a compelling biography who lies a great deal.

Reporter: Wow! That’s a pretty serious charge.

You: Actually, [insert name of reporter], it’s not a charge. It’s what certain people in your profession call “a fact.”

Reporter (suspiciously): So you’re calling her “a liar”?

You: Right. As in someone who lies a lot.

Reporter (gravely): With all due respect, Senator, if you’re going to make that kind of accusation, you’d better be specific.

You: Sure. Remember when she said I’d never written a major piece of legislation? That was a lie. And when she said she opposed the Bridge to Nowhere? That was also a lie. And when she said I would raise taxes on American families? Again: a lie. And you know how she talks about opposing earmarks. Given that she hired a Jack Abramhoff-affiliated lobbyist to haul in $27 million in earmarks for her beloved small town, that’s a real whopper. So she lies a lot, about my record and her own record. Just as a reminder, though, I’m not running against Sarah Palin. I’m running against John McCain, who is also a liar.

Reporter (even more gravely): Wait a second, so now you’re saying –

You: Yes, John McCain is a liar. He routinely lies about my tax plan, which will cut taxes for 95 percent of families with children. He lies about his own tax plan, which will continue the tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires he once called “irresponsible.” He lies about his support of renewable energy. He lies about his judgment on the Iraq War, a war he himself declared over five years ago, on national TV. He lies about his vetting of Sarah Palin, which was clearly reckless and inadequate. Virtually every time he opens his mouth he lies.

Reporter (frankly aghast): These are harsh words, Senator.

You: Not really. I’m just tired of listening to the Republican nominees and their surrogates lie with impunity. And the only way these liars are going to stop telling lies is for reporters like you, [insert name of reporter], to report when they lie. I urge you to show the same concern for the truth with us Democrats. Politicians shouldn’t be rewarded for lying.

What would happen if you actually said this — even some toned down version?

1. You completely dominate the news.

2. You force the media to assess your “inflammatory” claims, which, as it turns out, are true.

3. You force McCain/Palin/surrogates to stop lying, or at least risk being held accountable.

4. You reassure those who are worried you’re not tough enough to protect the homeland.

5. You show us, your loyal supporters, that you don’t plan to pull a Kerry/Gore.

6. Maybe (just maybe) the race starts to become more about real issues, where the Republicans get slaughtered.

Oh, and next time Bill O’Reilly asks you to admit you were wrong about the surge, tell him John McCain needs to admit he was wrong about the entire war, and to stop lying about his failure to support veterans. Honestly, dude, quit making John Stewart do all the heavy lifting.

More concerned than ever,

Steve

Steve Almond: Dear Barack: When They Lie, Call Them Liars

So, this week, when passing through Bradley International Airport, I was stopped by a TSA agent who said to me, about my baby’s formula: “You’ll have to mix that formula here now.“

“I’m sorry,” I said, “but mixed formula is only good for 60 minutes, and the flight is over 3 hours, and it doesn’t leave for over an hour. I checked the website, I’m allowed to bring the formula.”

She said to me, “That’s true, but you can’t bring this water, even though it’s sealed.”

So I calmy replied, “Are you sure? That’s sealed nursery water. It’s distilled and fluoridated. I can’t get that in the airport.”

This is a gray area. The TSA has fairly broad requirements for traveling with children.

In most cases, I would’ve expected the agent to be harsh and deliver something like “I’m sorry, you’ll have to dispose of the water.” But instead, she summed us up, examined the liquid, and allowed us to pass, not just with the sealed nursery water (two 4 oz containers), but also with 2 oz of water in the baby’s bottle.

The TSA agent – I am presuming – made a judgment call about what she thought was safe and in the best interest of the passengers, including me. I wish more agents would remember that they work for us and it doesn’t take much to be smart and safe. I’m not suggesting that they should permit everyone to flex rules, but rather, that they ought to use their own judgment and not cause unnecessary complication. I flew twice in the last few days, and both experiences, despite insane crowds at the airport, were fairly easy when it came to security.

So I have to hand it to them, the last few weeks have exposed me to a few positive experiences about the way the TSA is changing.

On religion:

“But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg…. What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth.

Christianity neither is, nor ever was, a part of the common law.

I am for freedom of religion, & against all maneuvres to bring about a legal ascendancy of one sect over another.

Religion is a subject on which I have ever been most scrupulously reserved. I have considered it as a matter between every man and his Maker in which no other, and far less the public, had a right to intermeddle.

I am really mortified to be told that, in the United States of America, a fact like this can become a subject of inquiry, and of criminal inquiry too, as an offence against religion; that a question about the sale of a book can be carried before the civil magistrate. Is this then our freedom of religion? and are we to have a censor whose imprimatur shall say what books may be sold, and what we may buy? And who is thus to dogmatize religious opinions for our citizens?

On Freedom of the Press:

Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.

The basis of our government being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.

On Opposing the Government:

I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.

Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government; that whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights.

On States’ Rights:

I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground: That “all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States or to the people.”

On Freedom and the Government:

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.

The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government.

Bigotry is the disease of ignorance, of morbid minds; enthusiasm of the free and buoyant. Education & free discussion are the antidotes of both.

On George W. Bush (ok, not really):

A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are suffering deeply in spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public debt. If the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at stake.”

All quotes courtesy of Wikiquote.org

“For one, they need to understand the critical role that the separation of church and state has played in preserving not only our democracy, but the robustness of our religious practice. Folks tend to forget that during our founding, it wasn’t the atheists or the civil libertarians who were the most effective champions of the First Amendment. It was the persecuted minorities, it was Baptists like John Leland who didn’t want the established churches to impose their views on folks who were getting happy out in the fields and teaching the scripture to slaves. It was the forbearers of the evangelicals who were the most adamant about not mingling government with religious, because they did not want state-sponsored religion hindering their ability to practice their faith as they understood it.

Moreover, given the increasing diversity of America’s population, the dangers of sectarianism have never been greater. Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.

And even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would we go with James Dobson’s, or Al Sharpton’s? Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is ok and that eating shellfish is abomination? How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount – a passage that is so radical that it’s doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application? So before we get carried away, let’s read our bibles. Folks haven’t been reading their bibles.

This brings me to my second point. Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God’s will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.”

The divorce rate in the United States is somewhere between 40% and 60%, Wikipedia has a thorough statistic review. Marriage, as a general institution, may in trouble. The family unit may be in trouble. But it’s not because of gay marriage. No, Americans have f’ed this one up all by themselves without the help of the gays.

So why would anyone care at all if two gay people want to commit to each other and enjoy the same tax and governmental benefits? How is this anything but defying the Judeo-Christian “Live and let live” doctrine; how is this anything but boldly defying the “love your neighbor” adage? The world needs more peace, but obviously, those who oppose this on religious grounds feel they are worthy of passing judgement.

Then there are those who oppose it on political grounds. They favor a ban on gay marriage via an amendment that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and thereby excludes gay couples from such a practice. What is the motivation for this? Do we not have enough problems in this once great nation? I just can’t see how you can favor a constitutional ban on gay marriage and claim to be a patriotic American at the same time. Nothing could be more anti-American than intentional discrimination. Remember, that is exactly that from which our forefathers were fleeing! But then, as a nation, we have little respect for the vision the forefathers actually had. In fact, too often it is argued that they meant something other than what they eloquently and laboriously detailed.

Look back at the 18th amendment, which reads

[...] The importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.

It seemed like what the United States wanted at the time, but what is perceived as more American in this century than a man enjoying a cold Budweiser? Just a few short years later, we had to alter the constituion of the nation once again just to repeal this crazy knee-jerk amendment. Gay marriage will, in my lifetime, be permitted and seen as normal. It’s inevitable.

It’s foolish of us to think that if we build a discriminitory amendment into the constitution, future generations won’t look back and us and laugh. It’s amazing that there are actually old curmudgeons who care enough, who suggest they feel threatened by gays getting married. I can’t find anything more ridiculous, particularly when Larry Craig and Mark Foley and a host of other elected officials campaign strongly against homosexual rights, only to go home to their gay hooker boyfriend for a good bathroom-stall shagging. I think it’s amazing that there exist bigots like this (read the comments) in this country and that they dare call themselves Christian. If there is indeed an afterlife, they will face their long overdue judgment.

Thank God “Dear Abby” is enlightened. Hopefully, she can change even just one narrow, dogma-fed mind. Too bad there are others who sit in judgment who believe they are qualified to judge their fellow man. So — who are the people who most vocally and actively oppose gay marriage? I’ll tell you who: self-hating closeted homosexual men.

• are anti-science
• are anti-gay
• don’t believe in evolution
• don’t believe in global warming
• are anti-stem cell research
• are anti right-to-choose
• believe in forced school prayer
• are pro-war
• believe there is actually a “war on terror”
• disregard separation of church and state as envisioned by the American founding fathers

…tend to be the least tolerant and most narrow-minded people of all? Have you noticed these people are sheep who spout uninformed political nonsense, flock to church and swallow the tripe whole, are perfectly comfortable with genocide anywhere but in the US, and then preach about morality? Can you believe that these people dare to call themselves “patriotic Americans” without bothering to even contemplate what that even means? The founding fathers – brave men who stood for honesty, integrity, truth and liberty – would be ashamed of us.

It’s no surprise these people exist. These people are routinely the least educated in the nation! That’s right, smart people voted for Kerry, and dumb, white, fat Wal-Mart shoppers voted for Bush. Hey, don’t yell at me, this is what the statistics show!

That’s not to say Kerry was a shining star, it’s just to say that the decline of the United States in general can be placed squarely on the shoulders of George W. Bush and his brainless followers, so-called “Christians” who preach war, intolerance, and anti-American initiatives. Oh, and it’s pretty much a sure thing that history books will concur.

“The only thing worse than one soldier dying in vain is more soldiers dying in vain.”

(On same-sex marriage:) “This country – and this world – needs more love. Love trumps morality, morality trumps politics.”

Net Neutrality: I support a free and open Internet with no restricted access to any site, for any reason.

My new favorite candidate! Of course, I don’t believe he has a chance in hell of winning, but I will support him as long as he is a candidate. I don’t honestly see a way you can be truly American and support exclusionist politics. Status quo has got to go.