Archives for September 2008

When I think of this blog I invariably get an image of a trip that has taken me around the world and back again. We have trudged through snow, sailed over the oceans and hiked through mountain and desert terrain. The Dead were right, “What a Long Strange Trip It Has Been.”

Through the course of the journey I have shared my thoughts on many topics and have done so without regard for whether it was the popular view. Sometimes I have opened my mouth and confirmed for someone my ignorance/brilliance, but that has never been a factor in determining what to write about.

I have a Palin in my ass. I know that is a bit disrespectful, but I like the way it sounds and as I am feeling grumpy, I don’t care. The woman and her Kool-Aid drinkers are wearing on me the same way that the Obama crowd has. I am not going to rehash everything from the first post, if you want to know more read here. But I’ll share a few more thoughts about what I find distasteful.

There is a list of books that supposedly Palin tried to ban. I haven’t found proof that she went after the long list, but I have found a few places that suggest that she did try to ban some. To me that is a shameful thing, evidence of a very small mind. I have a huge issue with that.

She has a pregnant teenage daughter and a baby with special needs. Now is not the time to leave them. It is not a matter of financial need. In this situation I have no problem saying she should put her family first. Call me sexist, I don’t care. Go get me a beer, iron my shirt and make my dinner.

The woman has no substantive economic or foreign policy experience. That is an issue. We are at war in two different countries and have major economic issues. My retirement dollars are getting their butts kicked. I am going to be 40. I don’t have 40 years to wait for them to recover. Sorry, selfish me wants to retire before I become an invalid.

And listening to the crowing of her supporters is just irritating. She is not the first or second coming. I am not lighting a cigarette. I didn’t accept it with Obama and I don’t here.

It is bad enough to have had to listen to the shrieks and finger pointing of both sides the last eight years, but this is too much. I have had enough!

All I want is to feel good about a candidate and their running mate. I know the feeling because I have had it in the past, but not this time and not the last time around. Excuse me, I think that my skull just exploded, I need some ice.

Updated: The following are excerpts from Time:

Palin has no national experience and less than two years experience as governor, but she is unabashed about that. “That’s a healthy thing,” she told TIME. “That means my perspective is fresher.”

She supports the teaching of creationism in public schools, alongside evolution.

Earlier this month, a legislative panel launched a $100,000 investigation to determine whether Palin abused her influence by attempting to get her former
brother-in-law fired as a state trooper. The panel is currently questioning whether Palin dismissed the state’s safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, because he refused to fire her ex-brother-in-law, Mike Wooten, whose marriage to Palin’s sister ended in a bitter divorce — and custody battle — in 2005. Palin has denied the charges, and says she did not coordinate the reported dozens of telephone calls placed by her husband and administration to Wooten’s bosses.

I am not going to spend a lot of time writing about politics, at least not today. I am just not in the mood for it. Besides if I sail down that particular waterway I’d like to really get into it and I am not up for it. So now that I have prefaced this post with that I’d like to throw out a few things.

This is the second presidential election in which I am disappointed. I don’t find any of the candidates to be inspiring. There are things that I like about them and there are things that I do not. I am not usually a middle of the road kind of guy. Most of the time I can tell you where I stand, but this one is more challenging for me.

Obama- Don’t feel comfortable with him. There is not enough substance for me to feel good about. Fine speaker, but what are his plans and how does he intend to execute them. I really am concerned about him and Foreign Policy.

Biden helps, but not enough for me to ignore the other issues.

McCain- I like old Johnny Mac. There are a lot of things about him that I appreciate, but the fact is that he is 72. His age and his health are of concern to me. He is pandering to the far right more than I like. I suspect that he is doing it out of necessity and that it will not last, but I don’t know.

I am not enamored with Palin. Her experience is not as vast as some suggest. She was mayor of a town of 7,000 and governor of a state with a tiny population. She has some accomplishments, probably more than Obama. But it is not enough for me to jump up and down about.

It may not be fair, but I wonder about a mother who is willing to sacrifice her family in this manner. It is one thing when finances dictate parents working long hours, but this is not the case. She has a number of young children and a teenage daughter who need her help. I am not judging her daughter, but the girl is pregnant and 17. If ever a girl needed her mother now is the time.

How is she going to have time for her and the baby. I don’t like it.

I don’t see Palin as being an expert on foreign policy. What does she know. What has she done. And I don’t like religion being injected so deep into the election and I see that happening. I can’t criticize Obama’s relationship with the wacky pastor and not question Palin’s.

All told, I am underwhelmed here.

Two links about Sarah Palin.

Ben Stein
Anne Kilkenny