Sarah Palin

Sarah "Barracuda" Palin and the Piranhas of the Press.

{...}From the beginning, and for the ensuing 10 months, the coverage of this governor consisted of a steamy stew of cultural elitism and partisanship. The overt sexism of some male commentators wasn't countered, as one might have expected, by their female counterparts. Women columnists turned on Sarah Palin rather quickly. A plain-speaking, moose-hunting, Bible-thumping, pro-life, self-described "hockey mom" with five children and movie star looks with only a passing interest in foreign policy -- that wasn't the woman journalism's reigning feminists had envisioned for the glass ceiling-breaking role of First Female President (or Vice President). Hillary Rodham Clinton was more like what they had in mind – and Sarah, well, she was the un-Hillary.

 

"The fact of the matter is, the comparison between her and Hillary Clinton is the comparison between an igloo and the Empire State Building," Chris Matthews said on MSNBC's "Hardball" last October. (Note to Chris: That's not a "fact;" it's closer to a simile, and an ad hominem one at that.) But Matthews was hardly alone.

 

"This is not a serious choice," said Eleanor Clift, a regular on "The McLaughlin Group."
 

"It looks like a made-for-TV movie. If the media reaction is anything, it's been literally laughter in very, very many newsrooms."

Howard Fineman, Clift's Newsweek colleague, in an appearance on MSNBC, said that McCain's choice of Palin undermined the planned story line of the GOP convention, which was going to be that Obama lacked the readiness to lead the country. "Well, Sarah Palin makes Barack Obama look like John Adams."

 

The first thing reporters and commentators seemed to have noticed about Gov. Palin was her physical beauty. The second was that she had a bunch of kids, the last one born with Down's syndrome in spring 2008. For some reason, these two facts infuriated many Democratic activists and bloggers – and some liberal journalists.

 

The most egregious example was posted on Daily Kos on Sept. 12, 2008 by Paul Lewis Hackett III, a trial lawyer and U.S. Marine Corps veteran of Iraq, who ran in 2005 for a vacant seat in the House from Ohio's second congressional district, losing narrowly in a district President Bush had carried easily just a year earlier.

Fretting that the Obama campaign was going to lose Ohio to McCain, Hackett proposed his own solution: A series of savage attacks on the GOP ticket focusing on Sarah Palin and her family. Here is what he wrote:

 

The message (would be) simple and the professionals can refine it but essentially it should contain these elements: Sarah Palin? Can't keep her solemn oath of devotion to her husband and had sex with his employee. Sarah Palin? Accidentally got pregnant at age 43 and the tax payers of Alaska have to pay for the care of her disabled child. Sarah Palin? Unable to teach her 16 year old daughter right from wrong and now another teenager is pregnant. Sarah Palin? Can you trust Sarah Palin and her values with America's future?

 

Apparently, Hackett took the rumors of an affair from the National Enquirer, which offered no proof, or even evidence. He then segued into an even uglier line of attack, arguing that it's irresponsible to bring a handicapped baby into the world. This is not "pro-choice," it's pro-eugenics. It's also creepy and illiberal, and reinforces conservatives' worst fears about Democrats and the issue of abortion. And, oh yes, Bristol Palin's age was wrong. She was nearly 18 when Hackett wrote this screed, not 16. This proved a harbinger, too, as misinformation slipped easily from the left blogosphere into mainstream coverage.

 

This New Journalism, if you can call it that, exhibited in 2008 was epitomized by an eradication of the lines between fact and opinion – and, even more troubling, between reporting and propaganda. Some journalists were content to repeat Democratic Party talking points or bloggers' rumors as though they were established fact, interspersing them with ideological commentary in a kind of toxic stew.

"She is a far-right conservative who supported Pat Buchanan over Bush in 2000. She thinks global warming is a hoax and backs the teaching of creationism in public schools," wrote Jonathan Alter in Newsweek on Aug. 29, 2008. Actually, she did not support Buchanan, she questioned whether climate change is man-made (not whether it's occurring) and gave creationists the most minor of rhetorical nods – and never questioned the teaching of evolution in schools.

 

But so it went.{...}

 

By far, this is the best rundown on the shameful doings of the press during the election. 

Go read.  It's long, but it's well worth your time. 

So, in case you've kept your tee vee turned off over the long holiday weekend, and missed the news, Sarah Palin announced on Friday that, later this month, she would be resigning her office as Governor of Alaska. 

While I'm very sad that she will no longer be in a position to become the first female President of the United States, I don't think this is nearly as baffling as some people profess the move to be.  It's pretty clear to me: someone must have offered her something mighty tempting for her to throw away her political career.  I'm sorry, but I'm not buying that she will magically obtain higher office in her future: the attack ads write themselves: She quit on Alaska, she'll quit on you, too!  (Yeah, Russ, I'm talking to you.) Just because you'd like for the world to work differently in some respects, to think that she could, conceivably, pull off a successful presidential bid sometime in the future despite this resignation, doesn't mean it's going to happen.  I think it highly unlikely. Hence, I think she's got something different lined up. 

That said: The chick has a plan for her future.  This was no noble act of self-sacrifice.  This, I'm fairly certain, was also not about some scandal she wishes to avoid.  She was not run out of office on a rail. This was about her future.  About putting herself in a position where she can do the most good.

This plan, I believe, revolves around the fact she's a lightning rod.  She has accepted, or at least has been forced to accept that this is what she is.  She goes out in the storm, she gets hit.  BLAMMO!  That's just the way it is for her.  You'd have to be a numbskull not to realize, after the fourth hit, that you've got bad luck in this regard. So, if you're going to constantly get hit by lightning, you have two options: go inside and get out of the rain, or you take action to ensure that it's worth being hit left, right, and center.  And, I believe, the latter is what she's doing.

I don't know precisely what she's got planned.  I would suspect, however, that media punditry is out, as she prefers to be in a position where she can actually do some good.  Yet, her choice to resign has ruled out the option of higher office.  Hence, my best guess is that she will wind up in some position of power in the Republican Party.  Whether she will, or even can, challenge Michael Steele for leadership of the party, I don't know, but it would seem to be a logical step.  She is extremely good at articulating the finer points of Republicanism, and, again, if she's going to take the hits, she might as well be changing things on a bigger scale than what she's able to achieve in Alaska, or on any speaking tour.  I can see where taking the helm of a (currently) rudderless ship would be a challenge she would enjoy and would, potentially, to continue the nautical metaphor, leave a greater wake than being elected president.

Last week, I compared this election to chemotherapy, because they have similar fatigue-inducing qualities.  Like I wanted the chemo to be over with, I want the election to be over with as well.  I'm just plain tired of all of it. 

Well, if last week was the chemo treatment, this morning I received the political equivalent of the Neulasta and Aranesp shots they gave me after a treatment.

Check this out. 

Oh, you couldn't be bothered to click?  We'll let me show you what was on the profile page of an Obama supporter until she cleaned it up. 

Yeah.  That's right.  Sarah Palin is, apparently, a cunt.  I mean, she must be because someone put it on a t-shirt!  Which, until recently, was sold at Cafe Press.  

Apparently, Cafe Press, is undoubtedly upset at having to pull it off their virtual shelves for being abusive because it was, evidently, a big seller.

But have no fear!  You can still get one here!  The lettering's not as pretty, but hey, it's all about the message, maaaan.

Now, like most sensible American women, I DESPISE the "C" word.  I HATE it.  It's disgusting, vile, atrocious.  {Insert derogatory adjective here and I'll run with it.}.  It's just vile.  This is the one word most of us have a problem with.  I have an issue with listening to my English friend, M., use it as an equivalent to "asshole."  After listening to her and her roommate use it about fifteen thousand times in a half-hour, I finally had had enough and said, "You do realize the word you keep using is one of the worst in American English, don't you?"  While, of course, they argued, ala John Cleese, there is no such thing as American English, they eventually realized that not everyone was in love with their usage, and put a friggin' lid on it for the rest of my stay.  I was thankful.  I didn't want to hear it then, and I sure as hell don't want to hear it, or see it, as the case may be. 

This is not because I'm against using foul words.  Hell, no!  I adore dropping F-bombs here and there.  I have no problems with the word 'shit' because, well, that's what it is.  What's the problem? If someone's an asshole or an asswipe, I'll drop those descriptors with no hesitation.  It's the same with dickhead, or any number of other colorful adjectives and nouns.   But I draw the line at "cunt."  That is ABSOLUTELY VERBOTEN. 

Now, never mind that I haven't heard one thing on the news about this.  The mainstream media has, sensibly, judged that Obama can't be held responsible for the whacked out views of every supporter who has a page on their website.  Like, duh.  The Chosen One apparently has better things to do than hire a responsible web admin, and pull nasty images before they become a problem.  But, let's just imagine if a McCain supporter had put up on McCain's website a picture of themselves in a "I HATE {INSERT N WORD HERE}"  t-shirt. 

Don't you think he'd catch, at the very least, a little flack about it? 

But, of course, that's supposing the mainstream media isn't in the tank for Obama.  In this evironment, in which we are now living, McCain would, of course, catch hell for it.  He's already catching flack for what his "hateful" supporters are saying at rallies.  Let's not underestimate what a gift this would be for the media: It would be THE October Surprise.  The one story the media hungers for that could bring down their electoral oppponent.  And no, I'm not mixing my possessive pronouns there.  Obama is the media's candidate.  Hence, my usage of the language is correct.   But there's been no backlash.  It hasn't even made the wire services so far as I can see. 

I've long thought that Obama is, to quote M, a "misogynist dinosaur."  He apparently, despite being raised by a single mother, has fallen prey to what most black men nowadays---if Hip Hop Culture is any indication---believe: that women are bitches and hos; are only good for fucking; will bleed them dry if given the chance;  and what's more is that, apparently, since the women like it like that, they're disposable, because there's always another woman, lined up, to receive the same treatment.  Obama has no respect for women.  He doesn't care.  This is a man who, when his wife's mouth got to be a problem on the campaign trail, made her disappear back to Chicago for several weeks to allow the story to die down.  Michelle Obama, strong, proud, highly educated, accomplished, well-paid, independent Black woman, did what her husband told her to: she vanished into thin air; to presumably "take care of the children" when everyone else knew what was going on.  She's simply an asset to be brought out when she can behave herself; a liability when she gets out of line.  How is that different from Fifty Cent's (alleged) burning down of an ex's house, when she asked for more child support?  Fitty (allegedly) wanted his problem to disappear.   Obama actually made his do so.  Whether Obama believes we're living in a "post-sex" world, the same way he believes he can be the "post-race" candidate, hence meaning he can get away with this kind of crap, I don't know.  That's up to him to declare.   

But let's face facts: it's not like he's ever going to. 

And the media's never going to call him on it.  The media let's him get away with playing Jay Z's "99 Problems and the Bitch Ain't One" during campaign rallies when he was running against Hillary in the primaries, while they rush to publicize any rock group's problems with the McCain campaign using their songs.   I mean, the Foo Fighters recently pitched a fit about the use of "My Hero" at McCain rallies, and the media trumpets it as yet another "Aha!  Musicians have a problem with McCain!" story, like it matters, because the Foo Fighters are big, fat hypocrites, whining about its use and then running right out to cash the checks on the licensed use of the song.  Yet, surprisingly, a song that ends with "I got 99 problems, being a bitch ain't one"  is played prominently during The Chosen One's rallies, and THE MEDIA HAS NO PROBLEM WITH IT?  Go and read the damn lyrics.  They SHOULD have a problem with it.  

You think that if the McCain rallies played a song that ended, "I've got 99 problems, being a nigger ain't one" the media wouldn't have a problem with it?   

This is just another example where the Democrats say one thing, and do another.  It's, apparenlty, all right with the media and Obama that his supporters run around in "Palin is a Cunt" t-shirts.  They couldn't be expected to control the misogyny of their supporters!  Besides, we're not misogynists!  Democrats have a long history of supporting women's rights!  

Well, surprise, surprise.  Trouble is, the supporters are simply taking their cues from their Leader.  And as w all know, actions speak louder than words, even if they do roll off the silver plated tongue of Barack Obama.

{Ht: Ace, from whom I stole the screenshot}

Yes, Sarah Barracuda bitchslapped Biden tonight. 

It was pleasant to watch, but I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed.  I expected more combativeness. I wanted more bitchslapping, and then for her to ask, "You want some more?  Because I'm just dying to serve it up, big boy."  

At least, that's what I would have liked to see, but given her interview performances, and how she had to make up for lost ground, perhaps that was asking too much. But the thing is...there was plenty of low-hanging fruit (Iraq, Fannie and Freddie, Afghanistan, Ahmadinejad, etc.)  that was hers for the taking, if only she'd wanted to...and she apparently didn't want to.  I have to think, perhaps, she was cautioned about getting into a pissing match with Biden.  It's one thing to come up with one zippy comeback.  It's another to keep coming up with them.  Problem is, if there was ever anyone who would have screwed up a zippy comeback quicker than she would, it's Joe Biden.  Perhaps this was an actual campaign strategy decision, so as not to affect her overall likeability factor, but I felt a little let down.

She again did what she needed to do, and while that may be "the soft bigotry of low expectations" playing out again, all you need to do is ask W. how it worked out for him. 

Of course, you have to ring the doorbell at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to do so. 

God love Joe Biden.  Really and truly.  The man just doesn't know how to keep from putting his foot in his mouth.

Two quality samples.

About the financial crisis:

"When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the princes of greed," Biden told Couric. "He said, 'Look, here's what happened.'"

Franklin Delano Roosevelt got on the television? Never mind that in 1929, Herbert Hoover was president.

{ht: Weekly Standard}

And...

Biden says Obama doesn't support clean coal, when, in fact he does. 

{ht: Ace, who has more on the subject.}

BRING THE DEBATE ON, BEEEEYOTCHES!

Seriously, cannot freakin' wait for this.  I'm squriming in my seat, like a little girl with the potty on her mind, waiting for this thing.  It's going to be awesome. 

There are reports in the news today that "Anonymous" hacked Sarah Palin's Yahoo! mail account.  As expected, the knee-jerk reactionaries are having knee-jerk reactions claiming conspiracy, immorality, armageddon, etc. 

No.  Anonymous is anonymous.  How can someone with no identity be a member of an organization?  The "Anonymous" protests against scientology are undertaken by individuals who have chosen to act in a specific manner against a common foe.  Anyone can be anonymous, and many are. 

There was no organized, concerted effort by the Anonymous who protest the cult of scientology to crack Sarah Palin's e-mail account.  That a couple of script-kiddies did so and claimed to be Anonymous isn't relevant to anything.  Anonymous is apolitical.  As well as amoral, and arguably asexual.  But there is delicious caek.

To quote the first article this administrator saw regarding this today:

As for the sample e-mails, rather than bolstering the contention that Palin uses private e-mail to avoid possible public scrutiny of official business, at first blush they actually seem indicative of her dutifully separating Alaska business from Alaska and national politics. Both samples are overtly political in nature, which, based on my admittedly limited understanding of the law in this area, make them inappropriate when using government resources.

 To quote one of the forums dedicated to spreading the truth about scientology and helping people get out,

party line: "we are not the chans and we have no idea who or why the account was hacked.  we had a pretty good chuckle over though. lulz."

I'm not going to explain those words you don't understand from that sentence.  This is teh Intarwebs!  Look it up.

UPDATE: The Cake Editrix has admonished me for not providing enough background on Anonymous and what the big deal here is.  Well, since she asked nicely...

Google Lisa McPherson. But before we get into that, know that the group of individuals that come together under the banner Anonymous includes people all over the world with a basic understanding of how the Internet works and some fairly obscure tastes (mostly).  All of the group banding together from specific sites on the Internet are Anonymous, but not all Anonymous are involved in the protest against the cult of scientology.

Many of these individuals are quite skilled, and the only thing keeping them from reading your e-mail is the fact that there's nothing left online that would shock them.  That and caek.  These skills, the origin sites of the phenomenon, and some of the highly technical shenanigans carried out in the past are what have earned a somewhat undeserved label of "hacker organization".  Most of these people aren't hackers, don't code, and have no idea what TCP/IP stands for. 

Accordng to the Why We Protest site, Anonymous is:

...a cultural phenomenon which began on internet image boards. Many such boards require no registration for posting, and every poster remains anonymous. This format of communication is inherently noisy and chaotic. However, the unprecedented openness made possible by such boards has nurtured the appearance of a unique and persistent culture.

We are a collection of individuals united by ideas. You likely know Anonymous, although you don't know exactly who we are. We are your brothers and sisters, your parents and children, your superiors and your underlings. We are the concerned citizens standing next to you. Anonymous is everywhere, yet nowhere. Our strength lies in our numbers. Our will as a whole is the combined will of individuals. Our greatest advantage is a knowledge of the fundamentals we share as human beings. This knowledge is a fruit of our anonymity.

Anonymous has left its mark on society more than once. Previous Anonymous projects have resulted in the closing of the white-supremacist radio show produced by Hal Turner, and the criminal prosecution of Canadian pedophile Chris Forcand. Anonymous has been called a "Cyber Vigilante Group" by The Toronto Sun and Global News, though in reality we are much more than that.

You can find much more about Anonymous' battle with the cult of scientology at enturbulation.org or xenu.net among a dozen other sites.  Start with Wikipedia and Google, and you can learn much about what is going on.  Now that you have that story, if you want the true, unadulterated inside dope, I will provide you with the be-all, end-all link that explains it in no uncertain terms.  Please be warned, the material at the other end of this link may make you reconsider certain notions you've entertained about society so far in your lifetime.  So with no further ado, I present this link for you.

Oh, Biden.  You ignorant slut, I love you.

{...}When telling the story of how his granddaughters had a slumber party with Barack Obama’s daughters during the week of the Democratic National Convention, Biden equated it to what he says Americans want.

“I believe that's a metaphor, a metaphor for what the country is looking for. They're looking for a sleepover with people they like!”

Yes, Joe.  Because what the American public really wants is pillow fights, stale popcorn, and cheesy horror flicks at three in the morning. 

The debate cannot come soon enough.

{ht: Tracy}

Just let me warn you: there's a three hankie warning attached to this link.

Click on the link (Mom, I'm talking to you especially).  Trust me, you'll be better for it. 

Now, if this was Matt Damon's candidate of choice, we'd all have heard about this already, wouldn't we?  Because the press would have a. been in on it and b. held it up as a sign that being able to communicate with a four-year-old Down Syndrome child was, really and truly, a sign he was the Messiah.  That says A LOT about the various candidates up for the highest office in the land. 

{ht: Gabriel over at Ace's}

And you've gotta say the way they do in Team America . 

What a f@#@g idiot. 

"It's like a bad Disney movie."

"I need to know if she believes there were dinosaurs on the earth four thousand years ago.  She's going to have her finger on the button."

And anyone should care what you have to say, Matt, why?

This has got me to wondering just how bad it's going to be for Biden at the Vice-Presidential debate on October 2.

Forget Cheney demolishing Fluffy Hair.  Forget just about every Vice Presidential debate since 1988.  The ultimate put-down came in my hometown of Omaha, in the autumn of 1988, when former Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen demolished his opponent, former Indiana Senator Dan Quayle with the efficiency of a samurai and a razor sharp Katana.

Remember this?

Say what you will about the Dukakis ticket, and there's not much, ultimately, to say, but that was the single-most effective moment of that particular candidacy.  Methinks if the Democrats had had the brains to put Lloyd Bentsen up for president in 1988, the world might look mighty different today, and not least because of his cutthroat comebacks.  Watch him while Quayle is talking.  He's practically licking his chops.  Never mind that Quayle was, essentially, right: Quayle went after the Holy Grail of the Democratic party---John Kennedy.  He had to be shut down, and Bentsen, a Kennedy contemporary, was just the guy for the job.  Quayle, essentially, handed the katana to Bentsen and told him to whack his head off. 

Now, my particular fantasy is about Joe Biden, and how he's going to act at the Vice-Presidential debate.  Because, as we all know very well by this point, Biden is a legend in his own mind.  He fancies himself the elder statesman.  What's more is he honestly believes he is the elder statesman.  This is not a man who is familiar with his own weaknesses.   I suspect he's going to be looking for a "Bentsen Moment": One that will not only prove that Sarah Palin is inexperienced, but will seal the deal so he can spend the next eight years, living at the Naval Observatory and rolling down the window of his limo, asking people in neighboring cars if they have any Grey Poupon.  

This, I believe, shall be his undoing. 

Because Sarah Palin isn't Dan Quayle.  And Biden's no Lloyd Bentsen.  I hope she gives him the opportunity to make an ass out of himself, because whatever comes flying back at him won't be, "That was uncalled for, Senator."

The scenarios that are running through my brain are just delicious, like a big slice of German Chocolate Cake, with caramel-coconut frosting.  Mmmmmmm.  Tasty.