A Look At Sarah Palin

[ubs]

From the Anchorage Daily. Not YEC, but good

Palin's connection to what Jeff Sharlett has called "elite fundamentalism" is of interest now that she is an election and a heartbeat away from the presidency...

Elite fundamentalists believe, according to Sharlett, not only in religious determinism but that they are personally chosen by God to be in positions of power. By claiming divine legitimacy of their political power, elite fundamentalists relegate the opposition to being the devil's tool. They are making a frighteningly close return to the pre-enlightenment concept of rule by divine right, which our founding fathers rejected as anathema to democracy and established, instead, the separation of church and state lest decisions be made on the basis of good versus evil rather than wise versus unwise.

How the hell did we get here. Could you ever have imagined in the 80's that this kind of thing would be acceptable in public office.

This is when I find great comfort in reading about the plague and thinking, "We survived, we survived, we survived..."

[nkb]

That's a very good point, and anyone that has watched Jesus Camp will recognize this theme.

They openly told the makers of the documentary that they are raising fundie evangelical kids so that they can take their rightful spot in positions of power, just as God wants them to.

[clambake]

ubs wrote

How the hell did we get here. Could you ever have imagined in the 80's that this kind of thing would be acceptable in public office.

This is when I find great comfort in reading about the plague and thinking, "We survived, we survived, we survived..."

Actually to me was in the 80's (i.e. Reagan years) that this shit started to fly in the public without protest. Ironically I recall in the (seemingly) much more secular 70's there was some serious concern that the born again Jimmy Carter was going to go all evangelical on the country.

'Beam me up Scotty..there's no intelligent life down here!'

[DrunkMonkey]

Lily,

How do you explain McCain's campaign manager (Rick Davis) pulling in 6 figures a year from Freddie Mac?

[Philboid Studge]

Eve Ensler wrote

I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people who made this choice count on the goodness and solidarity of Feminists.

But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical to Feminism which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence and war.

...

Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor. In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting of the arctic, the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God."

Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will should have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or not.

She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many babies that makes.

Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking. From what I gather she has tried to ban books from the library, has a tendency to dispense with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who could and might very well be the next president of the United States. She would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.

Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot hundreds of wolves from the air.

Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in his name, that is the end of separation of church and state and the undoing of everything America has ever tried to be.

...

If the Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the hall after Palin spoke at the RNC, "Drill Drill Drill." I think of teeth when I think of drills. I think of rape. I think of destruction. I think of domination. I think of military exercises that force mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis, doubt, ambiguity or dissent. I think of pain.

Who is Eve Ensler, you ask? Why, she inspired the title (and to an extent, the content) of the cuntiest thread of them all.

[DrunkMonkey]

Lily wrote

Oh great! He did nothing. He made a campaign speech! Now, how long has he [not] been in Congress?

http://obama.senate.gov/press/070322-obama_urges_ber/

March 22, 2007 wrote

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Senator Barack Obama today sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Paulson urging them to immediately convene a homeownership preservation summit with key stakeholders to fight foreclosures driven by growth in the subprime mortgage market.

The summit should consider best practice loan marketing, underwriting, and origination practices consistent with the recent (and overdue) regulators’ Proposed Statement on Subprime Mortgage Lending. The summit participants should also evaluate options for independent loan counseling, voluntary loan restructuring, limited forbearance, and other possible workout strategies. I would also urge you to facilitate a serious conversation about the following:

• What standards investors should require of lenders, particularly with regard to verification of income and assets and the underwriting of borrowers based on fully indexed and fully amortized rates.
• How to facilitate and encourage appropriate intervention by loan servicing companies at the earliest signs of borrower difficulty.
• How to support independent community-based-organizations to provide counseling and work-out services to prevent foreclosure and preserve homeownership where practical.
• How to provide more effective information disclosure and financial education to ensure that borrowers are treated fairly and that deception is never a source of competitive advantage.
• How to adopt principles of fair competition that promote affordability, transparency, non-discrimination, genuine consumer value, and competitive returns.
• How to ensure adequate liquidity across all mortgage markets without exacerbating consumer and housing market vulnerability.

Meanwhile McCain was seeking less regulation as recently as a few months ago (as his campaign manager was being paid off).

[nkb]

Philboid Studge wrote

Who is Eve Ensler, you ask? Why, she inspired the title (and to an extent, the content) of the cuntiest thread of them all.

She calls herself a feminist, but she's not a True Feminist (tm) *.

* according to Lily's definition

[Tenspace]

devon wrote

'Beam me up Scotty..there's no intelligent life down here!'

Ignorance is bliss.

[nkb]

Free Sarah Palin!

Who is the biggest sexist in this election? John McCain. Why pick a running mate that he thinks is too fragile to deal with journalists? Can women not handle the pressure as well as men?

[Philboid Studge]

Beat me to it, nkb. The video.

[Tenspace]

Yeah, me too, nkb. But hey, that Campbell Brown's hot, huh?



I'd let her speak into my microphone, if you know what I mean.

[ubs]

clambake wrote

Actually to me was in the 80's (i.e. Reagan years) that this shit started to fly in the public without protest. Ironically I recall in the (seemingly) much more secular 70's there was some serious concern that the born again Jimmy Carter was going to go all evangelical on the country.

I can't remember being really concerned about the Presidents favorite flavor of sky fairy until the 2000 election. That was the first time I noticed parties (Dems and Libertarians) altering their platforms to accomodate pro lifers.

Up to that point, I thought of fundies as this minority fringe that bombed women's clinics in conservative states. A kind of klan for women.

[nkb]

I was still a young pup back when Reagan was elected, but I thought he started courting the evangelicals, didn't he?

[ubs]

I remember hearing once that as a govenor, Reagan was pro-choice, liberal and, I think, atheist.