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November 21, 2008 at 10:07:43
Promoted to Headline (H2) on 11/21/08: by Brasch Page 1 of 1 page(s) |
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by Walter Brasch President Bush, as has every president since his father began the practice in 1989, annually pardons a Thanksgiving turkey. Amid hundreds of spectators, most of them members of the media, the president makes a few cute comments, issues a pardon for the turkey and a “runner-up” (in case the Main Bird can’t fulfill all the duties), and then sends the turkeys off to a petting zoo or ranch, where they live about a year. Why they live only a year is because domestic turkeys are bred to become so pleasingly plump so quickly that disease takes over their bodies if not slaughtered. A domestic turkey has a 26 week life span; wild turkeys, if not killed by natural predators, have a 12 year life span. Why domestic turkeys have to be “pardoned” is another matter. The birds did nothing wrong, nothing illegal. All they did was to be born and be turkeys. But, the entire ceremony is a good PhotoOp for the president, while encouraging the sale of turkeys for Thanksgiving dinner. Americans will eat about 46 million turkeys this Thanksgiving, according to the National Turkey Federation. 
The Federation first gave Harry Truman a bird in 1947. While most media declare that was the beginning of the pardons, there’s no evidence that Truman did anything other than eat turkey for Thanksgiving. In 1963, days before he was murdered, John F. Kennedy chose to spare the life of the turkey he was presented, but did not grab the salivating media to watch him “pardon” a turkey. The Federation gives each president a live turkey and two dressed ones.
And now comes a turkey disguised as a human. While most turkeys might be offended at the comparison, “turkey” might be the best way to describe Gov. Sarah Palin.
The former Republican VP nominee, at home in Wasilla, Alaska, went to the Triple-D farm, Thursday, accompanied by a willing press corps. There, she declared, apparently in all sincerity and unaware of the great irony, “I, Governor Sarah Palin, friend to all creatures great and small.” Yes, the same Sarah Palin who recently cooked moose chili while being interviewed on TV, who regularly kills animals, who approves the killing of wolf pups in their dens, who sees nothing wrong with violating every “fair chase” rule of hunting by encouraging aerial hunting. That Sarah Palin.
But, her “pardon” actually gets even more outrageous. She said she was pardoning the turkey because it was almost the national bird, that “it is not at all clear that this turkey even had a trial, let alone a fair trial by a jury of his or her peers,” and that Alaska doesn’t have a death penalty. So far, except for her squeaky unmodulated voice and lack of complete sentences, combined with the chortle her line about “friend of all creatures” must have provoked, no harm no foul.
And then she walked outside the pen into the fresh air and sunlight. While a KTUU-TV reporter interviewed her about returning to Alaska, behind the governor, and clearly visible to the camera, a worker was feeding turkeys into a metal funnel grinder, and grinning at the TV camera. The videographer told Palin what was happening behind her shoulder; her response was “No worries,” as she continued the three-minute interview, upstaged the entire time by the worker and the slaughter.
During the interview, she explained she went to the Triple-D farm to help promote local business, and because, “You need a little bit of levity in this job.” Near the end of the interview, she acknowledged she was a controversial figure, and threw out an off-hand comment about the work being done behind her: “Certainly we’ll probably invite criticism for even doing this too but at least this was fun.” It certainly wasn’t “fun” for the turkeys.
Although most Americans have no problem with eating meat, the scene that Sarah Palin willingly became a part showed not just ineptness but insensitivity.
“The word ‘turkey,’” said Sarah Palin, is “considered a term of endearment in casual conversation.” There is no way that referring to Sarah Palin as a turkey can be misconstrued to be a “term of endearment.”
[Dr. Brasch is the author of the recently-published Sinking the Ship of State: The Presidency of George W. Bush, available at amazon.com, bn.com, and numerous independent and chain stores. He is professor of journalism at Bloomsburg University. You may contact him through his website, www.walterbrasch.com or by e-mail at brasch@bloomu.edu]
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
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Editors & Contributors
Please ban the word Palin from your site. Why keep this woman in the news, you help her cause. by kato krause (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 216 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Nov 21, 2008 at 10:23:49 AM  (0+)
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why we keep Palin on site
Kato--The issue is not one of promoting anyone's cause, but reporting the news. And, although you may like Palin to just wilt away, it won't happen. News is what happens and what is reported. If we DON'T report what is happening, that is just as bad as reporting something unfairly. And, the issues of Thanksgiving are improtant ones, especially at this time of the year. by Brasch (87 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 70 comments) on Friday, Nov 21, 2008 at 10:56:08 AM (0+)
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Reply: Not Personal
She is not news. She is not important. She is someone who wishes to own you. She is a waste of mine and everyone elses time. Most importantly my stomach becomes upset everytime I see her name. Do we not have enough anguish, we have to smell vomit all the time? Not me. by kato krause (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 216 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Nov 21, 2008 at 11:34:55 AM (0+)
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Here's a link to the video
Not for the faint of heart: Seriously - this is a fitting end to her career (hopefully). Somewhere in Wasilla someone is missing their village idiot. by Cheryl Abraham (13 articles, 2 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 207 comments) on Friday, Nov 21, 2008 at 12:59:27 PM (0+)
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Reply: Dumb and dumber
Has she ever, in her whole life, been able to form just one coherent sentence? by camanokat (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 81 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Nov 21, 2008 at 2:11:37 PM (0+)
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Say what?
"She is not news. She is not important..." Excuse me, but who made you the final arbiter of who is newsworthy and who isn't? Sarah Palin is not going away. That is a fact. And she will probably be a major player in 2012. When you are governor of a large energy-producing state, that tends to happen. (No, she is not a turkey. She is not a village idiot.) You want to complain about non-news? Go over to Salon.com. They just had some contributor write a long complimentary piece about Michelle Obama's butt. I'm not kidding. Go check it out. by Scott (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 745 comments [30 recommended, 3 rejected]) on Friday, Nov 21, 2008 at 2:56:21 PM (0+)
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I agree with Kato
she is not news... not anymore.. She showed up on the scene, and within 15 seconds of her arrival, we had our first bogus scandal regarding Palin and her newest family member that some were POSITIVE was her grandchild... After that was proved to be bogus, she was attacked about how she handled the firing of a state trooper... (was later cleared in that, but after lots of damage was done) She was accused of thinking what a character in a Saturday Night Live skit said during a spoof, and this one is STILL going on... I truly have no idea why everyone is so in love with Sarah Palin that they keep reporting her comings and goings, but NEWS? Our nation is on the verge of a DEPRESSION, with a new government who intends to enact legislation that will virtually GUARANTEE this, and all people have to think about is Sarah Palin looking silly.... somehow I am thinking priorities are totally misplaced. by steve scheetz (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 831 comments [52 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Nov 21, 2008 at 3:06:44 PM (0+)
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Why keep her in the news?
Thanx for keeping her in the news even though seeing her on TV repulses me. There still may be some people who think she is special. I can't understand how anyone who is Right to Life can be so callous about animal life. The McCain group in my opinion did a lousy job of vetting. I should wish her well - though I rather wish that she learn the true meaning of compassion. by Suzana Megles (66 articles, 0 quicklinks, 22 diaries, 366 comments [45 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Nov 21, 2008 at 3:20:44 PM (0+)
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Obama 's best friend
"isn't? Sarah Palin is not going away. That is a fact. And she will probably be a major player in 2012." You said that already, and I agree 100%. If she runs for prez in 2012, she will be a major player Obama's reelection. by francine (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 385 comments) on Friday, Nov 21, 2008 at 3:50:38 PM (0+)
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Another Painful Palin Moment
One can only imagine what this woman inwardly feels about her recent villification by the national media corps. Nice to see they left her alone on this one and I agree, she is a national media name and therefore will remain in the news because she is news. Hard to believe her name would make a reader vomit, maybe that reader should adjust his diet to a more well balanced regimen of Republican and Democratic meals based on centered nutrition. by no1nose (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments) on Friday, Nov 21, 2008 at 7:44:10 PM (0+)
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Unaware and enterainingf
Palin is woefully unaware about what's going on around her and she is the perfect subject for TV which caters to dumbed-down viewers who need some daily, comedic, bizarre reality entertainment to fill their lives. As long as Palin keeps opening her mouth she will qualify for prime time TV news bites and comedy satires. Dumbed-down Americans gobble her up. Pass on this turkey, turn off the TV, cancel your newspaper subscription and read a book. Dave by Davaru (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 45 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Nov 22, 2008 at 8:02:37 AM (0+)
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Palin
I take offense that you would compare her to a poor turkey. Although they are born dumb, it isn't their fault. However, Ms.Palin doesn't have an excuse as she refuses to learn. With this thought, all I can do is cry for her kids as she home schools them and we will have another group of dummies coming out of Alaska. I offer my condolences to Alaskans as I know they are NOT all dumb. by sandy valencour (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 38 comments [11 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Nov 22, 2008 at 1:44:08 PM (0+)
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The real Turkey was elected President
The real Turkey goes in the White House in January. The reason why he surrounds himself from the old Clinton Administration is because Quote "I don't haver the experience mand this administration will need the extra help".... Kiss your 401k plan and buy your weapons now to protect yourself from his Civilian Military I still can't believe these are the changes you people voted for......... You called Bush Hitler? .. I had a very good 8 years and we haven't heard about Monica lately......... or has Obama given her a spot? by Don Bybee (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 116 comments [2 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Nov 29, 2008 at 3:20:06 PM (0+)
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