Top Five Sexist Attacks on Palin

Amanda Carpenter Wednesday, September 03, 2008

There’s a savage narrative developing among the media’s elite that suggests Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin will be a bad mother if she becomes the nation’s first female vice president.

MSNBC, CNN and the Washington Post have each hinted Palin may neglect her five children, including one with Down’s Syndrome should the Republicans win the White House in November. Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden even spent a considerable amount of time opining about Palin’s looks while attempting to lay out the differences between himself and Palin.

Here is a list of the five worst lines used so far to discredit Palin’s candidacy: (link)

Commentary: Feminism is not about advancing the cause of women but about advancing a left-wing agenda. Feminist never honor conservative women of achievement. Margaret Thatcher, Condoleezza Rice, Elizabeth Dole, or Sarah Palin cannot be considered feminist by the political feminist establishment, not because they are not women of achievement but because they are conservatives. It is much the same with the Civil Rights establishment: Michael Steele, J. C. Watts, Clarence Thomas and Colin Powell will never be honored by the Black establishment. Identity politics is not about righting wrongs or uplifting people but about advancing an agenda. Feminist activist are not above using sexism to advance their true agenda.

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Can a Female Feminist be a Male Chauvinist Pig?

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A Great Convention! A Great Speech!

I just finished watching the convention and think the Party struck just the right note.

I thought Lieberman did a good job and was glad he had a role. Fred Thompson was good. I would still like to see him become President. I thought Governor Palin was great!

I thought John McCain gave a great speech! I know he is not known as a great orator, but the rising crescendo of oratory at the end had me wanting to cheer and applaud. I was impressed and inspired. More impressive than the building emotionalism of the speech however was the perception of John McCain as a decent, honorable, man who has served his country with honor and distinction. He is someone I trust to do the right thing. I think he is wise and good and will put country first.

I think our country has been headed in the wrong direction and feel John McCain will put us back on the right track. We need change and reform, but not the statist solutions offered by the Democrats. We need a return to principled conservative governance but we also need pragmatism and someone who is committed to changing the partisan climate of Washington.

I just now made my second contribution of this campaign season to the McCain campaign and sent $100. Not a lot, I know. If you have done more, shame me into another contribution. Please, if you want to see John McCain elected president, make a contribution. If you can’t afford $100 make a contribution of $50 or $25. If you have the means to make a larger contribution, please do so. Obama’s supporters have put their money where their mouth is. Do they care about the future direction of this country more than we do?

We need to flood the campaign with money. If you, like me, watched this convention and felt that it is important that John McCain be the next President of the United States, open your wallet. Do it now, while you are still motivated. You can safely and easily make a campaign contribution using Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express. Just click on this link: John McCain. It will take you to the John McCain campaign site, then click on the “Invest in Victory” button.

I know Obama is leading in the polls. It is going to be an uphill battle do win this election, but I feel energized and feel more passion for a Republican victory than I have in a long time. November the second is still a long way off. A lot can happen between now and then. I believe McCain can win!

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Child Reflects Poorly on VP Candidate. Was Candidate Properly Vetted?

Biden’s Son Caught Up in Hedge Fund Troubles

August 25, 2008, 8:34 am

A son and a brother of Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware are accused in two lawsuits of defrauding a former business partner and an investor of millions of dollars in a hedge fund deal that went sour, The Washington Post reported, citing court records. (link)

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Joe Biden's deep (but mythical) blue-collar roots

Steve Chapman, August 31, 2008, Chicogo Tribune

Joe Biden once got in trouble for plagiarizing a speech and inflating his academic record. So it will not surprise you to find that his famous working-class background turns out to be mythical. But it may surprise you to learn that Biden isn't the one who has trouble with the facts. (link)

Comment: It seems Joe Biden is not the man of the people with working-class roots after all. His family was solid middle class. His father was an excutive, a co-owner of a business and a manager.

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Labor Day: Here's to the Working Man

Politicians of both parties routinely extol the virtues of “hard working Americans.” Who are they talking about?

These are peoples who I think deserve the title of “hard working Americans:” People who rake hot asphalt in the summertime, people who freeze in the winter while they're out repairing busted pipes, people who pick lettuce, people who pour concrete all day long in the sun, people who pluck chickens, waitresses who must stand on their feet all day and work long hours and put up with demanding bitchy customers.

To my way of thinking, it is not just physical labor that makes you a “hard working American” however. Some white-collar jobs and people with professional jobs also qualify. If you have a high-stress job, that may qualify you. If you are an attorney with a heavy caseload and you are practicing family law or criminal law then you are a “ hard working American”. If you own you own business and have to struggle to meet payroll and you work a lot of hours, you are a “hard working American”. If you are working in the emergency room of a hospital you are a “hard working American.” I guess I also think of anyone who is working more than one job or working more than 50 hours a week as a hard working American.

Americans certainly work more hours than other advanced industrial nation. In a typical year, Americans work the equivalent of a week more than the Japanese, three weeks more than the British, six weeks more than the French and nine weeks more than the Germans. And, more of us work. The unemployment rate in America is only 4.6% and it is 8.3% in France and 8.4% in Germany and in lots of third world counties they have unemployment rates in the 40% range. By the world’s standards we are hard working.

You often hear Americans complain about how hard they must work. Sometimes people will say that if takes both husband and wife working to support a household whereas when they were children, one wage earner could support a household. This is only true because we want so much more stuff, like bigger houses and newer and more cars and toys. A family of five in the fifties could live in a 3-bedroom house with one bath and drive only one used sedan and have no cable TV or cell phones and not feel poor. A family living in those conditions today would think of themselves as deprived. It does take more income to support the lifestyle we expect, but we expect a lot more. We work more because we value money and the thinks it can buy more than we value leisure time and other things.

I suspect almost everyone who is working thinks of himself or herself as “hard working”. What about the person who works 35 hours a week at a job that is not particularly physically demanding or nerve racking? Their job may be stressful at times but not all the time. They have benefits, eight paid holidays a year and three weeks paid vacation. Is this person a “hard working American?” What about the mid-level bureaucrat or the college professor? There are a lot of Americans like this. Apparently they still think of themselves as “hard working Americans.” I don’t hear anyone say to the politicians, “What about us non-hard-working Americans?”

Compared to the person raking hot asphalt in the summertime, I am not a “hard working American.”

Hear is a song for the working man. (To hear the song, click the song title)

Working Man Blues by Merle Haggard

It's a big job just gettin' by with nine kids and a wife
I been a workin' man dang near all my life
I'll be working long as my two hands are fit to use
I'll drink my beer in a tavern, Sing a little bit of these working man blues

I keep my nose on the grindstone, I work hard every day
Might get a little tired on the weekend, after I draw my pay
But I'll go back workin, come Monday morning I'm right back with the crew
I'll drink a little beer that evening,
Sing a little bit of these working man blues

Hey hey, the working man, the working man like me
I ain't never been on welfare, that's one place I won't be
Cause I'll be working
long as my two hands are fit to use
I drink a little beer in a tavern
Sing a little bit of these working man blues

Sometimes I think about leaving, do a little bummin around
I wanna throw my bills out the window catch a train to another town
But I go back working I gotta buy my kids a brand new pair of shoes
Yeah drink a little beer in a tavern,
Cry a little bit of these working man blues

Hey hey, the working man, the working man like me
I ain't never been on welfare, that's one place I won't be
Cause I'll be working long as my two hands are fit to use
I drink a little beer in a tavern
Sing a little bit of these working man blues

Yeah drink a little beer in a tavern,
Cry a little bit of these working man blues

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Only in America

Did you notice that at the end of the Democratic Convention when Senator Obama came back out on the stage and he was joined by his family and Senator Joe Biden that the song they were playing was "Only in America" by Brooks and Dunn? I was surprised. It is not that I don't think Democrats also like country music or that Democrats don't love America and can enjoy songs that celebrate what a great country this is, but I was surprised that they would feature that song. I guess I thought that song had been claimed as a Republican song . I think of "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" as a Democrat song and forever will me associated in my mind with the Clinton campaign. I would not expect Republicans to play it at their convention. This issue was addressed in Beverly Keel's column today in the Tennessean (link). It seems that "Only in America" has been used in campaigns of both political parties. Brooks and Dunn are Republicans. The co-writer of the song is Don Cook, founder of Music Row Democrats.

I love this song. It makes me happy every time I hear it. When I read the words I get a lump in my throat. I love this country and think America is a unique place and an exceptional country in world history. As Ronald Reagan said, we are that shinning city on a hill. This song expresses patriotism without being overly maudlin or jingoistic. Below are the lyrics. Click on the song title to see the video.

Only in America

Sun coming up over New York City

School bus driver in a traffic jam

Starin' at the faces in her rearview mirror

Looking at the promise of the Promised Land

One kid dreams of fame and fortune

One kid helps pay the rent

One could end up going to prison

One just might be president

Only in America

Dreaming in red, white and blue

Only in America

Where we dream as big as we want to

We all get a chance

Everybody gets to dance

Only in America

Sun going down on an La. freeway

Newlyweds in the back of a limousine

A welder's son and a banker's daughter

All they want is everything

She came out here to be an actress

He was the singer in a band

They just might go back to Oklahoma

And talk about the stars they could have been

Only in America

Where we dream in red, white and blue

Only in America

Where we dream as big as we want to

We all get a chance

Everybody gets to dance

Only in America

Yeah only in America

Where we dream in red, white and blue

Yeah we dream as big as we want to

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This is the clip that Obama does not want you to see.

The Obama campaign has used persuasion, threats of lawsuits and economic might in an all-out effort to suppress this video. They have written the Justice Department demanding an investigation of American Issues, the organization responsible for the ad, claiming the ad violates federal election laws. The Obama campaign has vowed not to purchase campaign advertising from any media outlet that carries the ad and is threatening to organized supporters to punish any TV station and those who advertise on any station that carries this ad. So far their suppression has succeeded. Both CNN and Fox have announced they will not carry the advertisement.

This ad questions Obama’s relationship with Bill Ayers and his wife Bernadine Dohrn, unrepentant domestic 60’s terrorist and co-founders of The Weather Underground. The Weather Underground described itself as the “Red Army in America” and declared war on The United States. They engaged in bombings, jailbreaks, and instigated violent riots. They bombed government buildings, banks, police stations, police cars, state and federal courthouses, state prison administrative offices, military recruiting stations, National Guard facilities, and university facilities with military or government connections. Several people were killed in connection with these bombings. Their most famous bombing was the bombing of the U. S. Capitol building in 1971.

Benadine Dohrn is every bit as radical as Ayers. Like Dohrn she engaged in revolutionary activity. Following the Charles Manson killings, Dohrn’s comment was “"Dig it! First they killed those pigs and then they put a fork in their bellies. Wild!"

The ad Obama seeks to suppress does not allege that Obama was in any way part of the Weather terrorist activity. Obama was only eight years old when the Weather Underground was formed. Obama has said Ayers is “just a guy in the neighborhood.” Ayers and his wife Bernardine Dohrn are now tenured professors at the University of Illinois. Ayers and Dohrn hosted a fund-raising party for Obama which launched his first bid for public office. Ayers and Mr. Obama have served on the board together of a Chicago-based charity.

To be fair to Obama, one may have casual acquaintances with unsavory characters and not be aware of their past. People that you may not approve of may give you campaign contributions. It is also possible you may sit on the boards of organizations and have nothing in common with the other board members except the project at hand. We should be cautious to jump to conclusions and allege guilt by association. Nevertheless, I want to know how close of a friendship there is between Ayers and Dohrn, and Obama. I think the Obama association with Ayers needs be be explored. Was the relationship just a casual association or does Obama share the values of Ayers and Dohrn?

The ad ask, "How much do your really know about Barack Obama? What does he really believe?” Obama is very likely to be the next President. Is it inappropriate to question his association with people like Ayers and Dohrn? I would like to know more and I would like to know what Obama really believes.

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Gustav May Help the Party

Some good news for Republicans! No; not the nomination for VP of Palin, although that is good news. The good news I am speaking of is that hurricane Gustav may actually help the Republican Party.

I was reading in the morning’s paper about the preparations being made in case Gustav hits New Orleans. It appears they are ready this time. Seven hundred buses are standing by to evacuate those without transportation. A plan to make sure everyone knows to evacuate including blanketing the city with policemen with bull horns to announce the evacuation is in place. The city does not plan to have any shelters of last resort this time which was such a disaster during Katrina. Detailed plans are in place for the evacuation. FEMA and the Red Cross are standing by. Host cities are standing by. Nashville is among those cities prepared to accept evacuees and we know where they will go and what we will do when they get here.

Katrina was a disaster and there was enough blame to go around but President Bush ended up taking the brunt of the criticism. I always thought the blame should have started with the mayor, then the governor and then the Bush administration. If Hagan would have had a better plan in place the disaster could have been avoided. I remember seeing on TV hundreds of inundated school buses that could have been used to evacuate people. That was Ray Nagin's fault not the fault of George Bush. Unfortunately, weather it is teenage pregnancy or drunk driving or crime or a natural disaster, many people tend to think the solutions must come from Washington and if things aren’t going well then it is Washington’s fault. The idea of individual responsibility, local self-government, and federalism seems to be fading in America.

With the Republican convention to start Monday, the news article I just read focused on the political implications of Hurricane Gustav. The first political consideration is whether or not the convention should be delayed. It may look unseemly to start the convention on Monday if Gustav is a major hit on New Orleans immediately prior to the convention opening. Another possible impact is that if Gustav hits a wallop on New Orleans and the evacuation goes off without a hitch, a lot of the blame heaped on President Bush and by association the Republican Party for the failure of the Katrina response, will be blunted. On the other hand, if it goes poorly again, the Party will suffer

Here is the part that I consider potential good news: ‘The white House is also concerned that Gustav will throw Bush’s schedule off, and possibly force him to cancel his McCain-boosting, farewell appearance as Monday night’s star at the Republican National Convention.”

I have been apprehensive about how the Republicans can handle Bush. You cannot, not allow the sitting President of your party to address the convention. However, with Bush’s popularity so low, and the Democrats trying to paint a McCain win as Bush’s third term, I do not see Bush’s presence at the convention as a boost but instead as a drag. McCain needs to put as much distance between his campaign and president Bush as possible. People do not need to be reminded that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. They do not need to be reminded of signing statements and spying on Americans in violation of established law, and run-away spending and appointment of unqualified cronies to high positions. Bush’s presence will just remind people of what a failure and embarrassment Bush has been.

I want to forget why I am disgruntled and instead look to the future and see John McCain elected president. The best that we could hope for is that Bush would make some little forgettable speech lightly praising John McCain and then disappear. Now however, Bush may not show up at all. That would be great news! I don’t want New Orleans to get hit by another major hurricane, but if the threat of a hurricane can keep Bush from attending the Republican convention, that would be a Godsend.

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Obama's 'Weatherman' Connection

There has been a sudden spate of blog items and newspaper articles, mainly in the British press, linking Barack Obama to a former member of the radical Weather Underground Organization that claimed responsibility for a dozen bombings between 1970 and 1974. The former Weatherman, William Ayers, now holds the position of distinguished professor of education at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Although never convicted of any crime, he told the New York Times in September 2001, "I don't regret setting bombs...I feel we didn't do enough." (link)

Comment: The above is from the Washington Post's Fact Checker column about the Obama-Ayers connections. What is the truth and does it matter?

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Joe Biden on Barack Obama

Biden on Obama for voting against funding U.S. Troops In Iraq And Afghanistan:

"And, look, Tim, if you tell me I've got to take away this protection for these kids in order to win the election, some things aren't worth it. Some things are worth losing over. That would be worth losing over. Hundreds of lives are being saved and will be saved by us sending these vehicles over which we are funding with this supplemental legislation. And I want to ask any of my other colleagues, would they, in fact, vote to cut off the money for those troops to protect them? That's the right question. This isn't cutting off the war. This is cutting off support that will save the lives of thousands of American troops."
~NBC's Meet The Press, 9/9/07

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3 AM

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