Once again, you and I are confronted with a savage and pervasive ignorance. Life is all about the choices we make.
Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) has the freedom to come and go, to speak and choose. What has Palin done with that freedom?
Palin, like about 60 percent of Alaska voters, favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Her environmental credentials are, at best, mixed. She favors what we in Alaska call "predator control," including, if necessary, the hunting of wolves from the air. Just recently her Dept. of Fish and Game pulled some wolf cubs from their den and shot them as part of a program to improve moose survival. Washington Post, 8-29-08
Sarah Palin wants to let the polar bears die, too. On global warming, she's aligned with" most discredited, fringe, extreme viewpoints"America Blog, 8-29-08
Aung San Suu Kyi's freedom is very different. It is the inner freedom of an imprisoned dissident; it is a mute freedom of heart, mind and spirit.
What has Aung San done with her freedom? She has gone on a hunger strike.
Weigh the US mainstream news media coverage of Sarah Palin's political ascension against its coverage of Aung San Suu Kyi's hunger strike; then ask yourself, "What has happened to this culture?"
Of course, it is big news that a politically obscure, ideologically radical, former topless beauty queen, who is under criminal investigation, would be named as the VP candidate of the Republican Party.
Topless Miss Wasilia 1984 Sarah Palin
But the hunger strike of a beautiful, articulate and courageous Nobel Peace Prize winner, the duly elected leader of her country, who refuses to bow to the rule of thugocrats who have held her prisoner for years should also be big news. And yet, barely a brief mention.
Time 100 Icons Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi is your parent, your child, your lover, your teacher, your conscience. What will you do to help her? Will you at least remember her day by day, Google her name to follow her plight, and go tell her story to your loved ones and your colleagues?
When someone wants to discuss Gov. Palin will you offer them the choice of discussing the struggle of Aung San Suu Kyi instead?
Burma's detained opposition leader and democracy icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi continues to refuse food deliveries, even after nearly two weeks of receiving her last supply on August 15, her party leaders said.
"As far as we know, she has not yet accepted any food supplies," Nyan Win, spokesperson of her party – the National League for Democracy – told Mizzima on Friday.
Hockey mom, multi-mom, fashion mom, swim suit mom, SUV mom, Jesus Saves mom, the mature, brunette look. Look for this latest toy on display at your newest toystore or local Republican headquarters. Ken doll currently not available, undergoing remodelling and brain surgery.
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Mac McKinney (47 articles, 75 quicklinks, 176 diaries, 1128 comments)
on Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 11:04:08 AM
The only problem is Rady, the Dems once again by bringing in incompetent losers fro several lost campaigns, have exhibited an arrogance that approaches that of the enemy Bushites. Looking at the problem with unbiased analysis topmost, one sees a President responsible for one million murders and hundreds of billions stolen from his own people, whose rating stood, last time I looked at 28% but the "Democratic" congress we have all looked forward to has frittered away their lead to a mere 19% approval rating.
Mrs. Palin may be a perfect target for criticism, but remember she has an 80% approval rating and had 60+% of the vote. Tho I remain an FDR Progressive, credit must be passed on even when merited, even to the worst competition. Someone in Mccain's camp made a smart move. I see the fine-evil hand of Rove in this logical choice.
She will appeal to a good many people. The Catholic vote, which went to Bush twice thanks to the air-headed pope** but went over to the Democratic congress in 2006, it will not go over to the Dems if she is on the ticket, mostly because of the disappointing no-show of that congress and the lack of creativity in Obama's choices of his staff since the end of the primary.
My unbiased evaluation tells me that now the Imminently beatable Mccain, has become a force to deal with, because of the failures of the Congress and the mistakes of the Obama campaign of late. Speeches don't win elections as Governor Adlai Stevenson discovered, votes win elections and as of this week the Dems are in deep trouble and there is only one way out and they do not have the courage to do it-fire and hire an new staff of unknowns who are brilliant and willing to take chances; fire all of the staff, all of them and hire new minds. Announce creative choices for possible cabinet members, appoint a counter to Palin, a Caucasian, Catholic, beauty with brains in her 30's to a key position as spokesperson of some sort and give her lots of press. Say publicly he will dump the Patriot Act and The Military Commissions Act of 2006 again and again and AGAIN, a thing he has not to my memory confirmed and rescind his stupid remarks about rehiring Blackwater, those comments alone lost him countless votes; dumb, dumb and dumber, whose idea was that? Don't answer that I KNOW whose dumb idea that was.
Calling people names is not going to make stupid mistakes and their consequences disappear. The idea is too GAIN votes among non-voters and those who were on the fringe of Bush voting and maintain what voters we did have. Instead they have lost votes among their base and watched votes they might have had outside it go away.
Who do they have chasing down the 60% of single working female voters who failed to vote in 2000? Or the 58% of same who failed to vote in 2004? I have seen not one ad going after that no-vote base, Who is running the demographics, Simple Simon?
For many people on the fringe, votes we need, there is a thin line between now, the two candidates, one wants to send troops over to Afghanistan, the other to keep them where they are-big choice. The other big issue no one is speaking about is where is our military going to come from? Those now in service are making a bee-line out as their terms expire and new recruits have gone south!
**(I am Catholic, and sent this pope some corrective emails, which he ignored and wrote unfavorably about him more than once for supporting Bush. I started writing him respectful analysis of faith when he first supported Bush when he was cardinal. I told him I belived that if elected he would declair war on Iraq and kill hundreds of thousands if not more and bomb it back into the stone Age. ) He finally heard me this year and revised by saying "if you see a greater evil than abortion, then vote yor conscience ..." I paraphrase but that was alnmost almost word for word my words to him.)
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Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo (144 articles, 1 quicklinks, 95 diaries, 1311 comments)
on Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 12:47:43 PM
Your analysis would probably be accurate if the vote count had rendered Bush a victor. That's not reality, in either 2000 or 2004.
So, discussing who votes how is an exercise in mental gymnastics, since no one can ascertain how our votes are counted now that we use software that can be hacked without detection.
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Rady Ananda (124 articles, 283 quicklinks, 36 diaries, 1061 comments)
on Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 3:11:56 PM
Bush won both elections... It's the cry babies that say unfair unfair, If Gore or Kerry had been elected we would still be waiting for the UN to say if it was o.k. for America to defend herself. The Russians and the French knew about the WMD's that's why they wouldn't back us. I guess you never saw the pictures of the people in Iraq who danced in the streets when the statues of Sadam were tumbled. They too now have drinking water and schools , and electricity insread of being held captive. What hatred the Democratic Party has for Humanity, Anti War but will riot in Minnesota breaking windows and damaging buildings and property.. that's a party to be proud of?
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don bybee (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 206 comments)
on Monday, September 1, 2008 at 7:47:07 PM
Did someone say topless beauty queen? Links, please!!
I'd say that in addition to helping McCain with the women's vote, the real appeal of Palin will be with men. They'd much rather look at her for four/eight years than Joe Biden.
Men are pigs. There's no changing that.
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Alan Williams (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 707 comments)
on Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 1:57:14 PM
You're so right! But I do like Sarah Palin 'cause she's a tough chick -- just like Mrs. Clinton, and I admire "tough chicks" -- I just don't want a liberal -- gender (or skin color) doesn't matter, philosophy does. So between two "tough chicks" as VP, either Hillary or Sarah, I'd prefer Sarah, based on philosophies.
But, I have to make note that on the left you have the party who claims to be all for women's equal rights, blah, blah, blah, and they put up a good old boy for VP, without even talking to Mrs. Clinton about it. Then on the other side, you have the party of alleged sexists, bigoted, homophobes, who put up a chick as VP. Interesting....
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shielah jones (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 88 comments)
on Sunday, August 31, 2008 at 12:32:10 PM
They "put up a chick..." you say. Maybe therein lies "the rub" and problem.
"Picking up" Barbie as running mate is exactly what makes them sexists, and all the rest. Did you read Rady's article, do a photo comparison, up there at the top of your scroll???? ~~JE
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muservin (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 50 comments)
on Monday, September 1, 2008 at 7:03:14 PM
This "story' of non-sequitors and Bob's story about Ms. Palin's baby are so offensive to me that I, a registered Democrat, vow to never vote for a Democrat again because I can just not be associated with views such as these! I am also withdrawing from this site. These "tactics" are so unethical that you all should be nmutually ashamed.
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E Lew (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 6 comments)
on Sunday, August 31, 2008 at 8:51:07 PM
That photo looks more like a strapless than a topless. The writer is getting very close to slander with intent to injure. If he is going to make statements like that, he needs to back it up. The basic inference here is that Aung San Suu Kyi should have received the greater coverage, but that has nothing to do with Palin since she didn´t write the news nor choose what to publish. Feeble, very feeble and cheap. This very qualified candidate has my vote for VP, and is more qualified with executive experience than Obama or Biden. She´s got my vote.
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Don Gist (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 9 comments)
on Sunday, August 31, 2008 at 8:59:31 PM
Still shots favor beautiful women. It translates to front offices and magazine covers.
Still shots with captions (for example, Minnesota Independent) tell a story.
But video with audio captures the action of our times (for example Uptake). For every shot of Palin this week, all over the nation people are seeing Ramsey County's rampage many times over.
Even some pictures of beautiful women have different life-lengths. Palin's will end up in dentists' offices. Aung San Suu Kyi's won't be seen for obvious reasons, but just one picture of a sea of red-robed Bhudist monks will remind us of her every day.
Great article, Rady.
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Margaret Bassett (31 articles, 1963 quicklinks, 30 diaries, 1279 comments)
on Monday, September 1, 2008 at 9:31:50 AM
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