Saturday Acronym, Palin-inspired
News headlines in acronym format, inspired by Governor Palin’s VP Debate performance:
upport group to be formed for six-pack efficianados NOT named Joe. Say it ain’t so!
laska to adopt pitbull as state bird.
rig Palin absent from campaign photo ops since this afternoon. DSS alerted.
ltra Last Red Blood-Drawn-From-A-Pitbull Long-Wearing Lipstick now available from N.Y.C. Cosmetics.
eading un-banned Dostoyevski or Nabokov now counts as foreign policy experience.
rop the “g” on “-ing” words, earn a tax break.
nswer all questions with either “special needs,” “maverick,” “special needs,” “yer darn right,” “special needs,” “God’s will,” “special needs,” “ole boys’ network,” “special needs,” or “nuke-yuh-lerr,” earn a new huntin’ rifle.
ell at pregnant rape victims to choose life, earn a wink.
Debatin’ (drink) with Sarah Palin (drink)!
f I were a drinkin’ girl and didn’t have a cr@pload of gradin’ to do tonight, I’d enforce a drinkin’ game for the VP Debate that involves takin’ a drink every time Sarah Palin disses the “g” on words endin’ in the “-ing” suffix.
Example: “Ya know, Joe, I’m beginnin’ (drink) to think you’re right about me missin’ (drink) some brain cells and havin’ (drink) a few screws loose, ’cause I can’t even tell ya one single book or magazine I’ve read since bein’ (drink) so blessed and privileged to’ve been elected mayor of the great town ‘a Wasilla, Alaska.”
Gun-totin' (drink) Palin (drink)!
If you wanna (drink) get REALLY crazy, you could take a drink every time she says “ya” or shortens any word into a slacked-off version of its correct usage. An’ (drink) if ya (drink) wanna (drink) go ahead ‘n (drink) try that game, the above quote would be lookin’ (drink) somethin’ (drink) like this:
Example: ”Ya (drink) know, Joe, I’m beginnin’ (drink) to think you’re right about me missin’ (drink) some brain cells and havin’ (drink) a few screws loose, ’cause (drink) I can’t even tell ya (drink) one single book or magazine I’ve read since bein’ (drink) so blessed and privileged to’ve (drink) been elected mayor of the great town ‘a (drink) Wasilla, Alaska.”
Ya (drink) know what? I’m actually beginnin’ (drink) to have doubts that her last name is really “Palin.” For all we know, it’s really PALING, and she’s just bein’ (drink) lazy.
7 Things I… cr@p, I forgot what I was going to say.
So I’ll just make it up as I go along. I’m my blog creator and, as such, not unlike He-Man, I…HAVE…THE POWERRRR!
1. I am so freaking sick of hearing all the economists and financial experts and Max Headroom-esque talking heads discussing Wall Street and Main Street, Main Street and Wall Street, MainWallWallMainSHUT-THE-F-UP! I mean, as if there are no other streets sweeping the nation. And yes, I fully realize that “Main Street” is meant figuratively to represent the typical American town. I know. I get it. All I’m saying is, it seems rather reductive and dismissive of the pluralistic nature of our society/country/economic system. Plus, I mean, HELLO, what about all the boulevards and avenues and drives and lanes and circles and terraces and…?!?! Not nice to discriminate and force our country into a simplistic, crappy binary of one street versus another street, Max Headroom. Not nice at all. Oh, and furthermore, check this: my town doesn’t even have a stinkin’ Main Street!!!! We do, however (unfortunately?), have a Wall Street. Go figure.
2. I can’t believe my plants aren’t dead yet. I have six. They are ALL thriving. It’s like they’re mocking me. They’re just sitting there, all passive and needy, soaking up sunlight and air and nutrients in the soil and stuff. Meanwhile, here I am rapidly deteriorating, skin getting scalier by the millisecond, and water and my nutrients-meds seem to help about as much as Russia’s proximity to Alaska aids SP’s foreign policy experience. I wanna just hang out in the sun all day too, but noooooooooooo…! Stupid plants.
3. What’s wrong with Rumer Willis’s face? Too much Bruce, not enough Demi. She must seriously hate life.
4. I totally have a crush on my writing dude. Is “writing dude” vague? OK, I’ll clarify: so, all the first-time writing fellows (such as myself) were required to register for a weekly “class” (which I like to refer to as our “support group”) so that we can air out our concerns, ask for suggestions, and generally pat each other on the back on a weekly basis. We also receive methodology and pedagogical help from our new Writing Program Director, whom I shall call… Aloysius (just go with it). So anyway, Aloysius comes to us from IvyLeagueSchool’s English Department. And he’s nothing if not highly brilliant and highly affable, which are generally two adjectives that are not said in the same breath. Which only intensifies the crush quotient. Also, he has this really cool leather messenger bag+briefcase hybrid, and who can’t appreciate THAT?! Also, he’s (prematurely) bald. And I’m pretty sure that if I ran my hand over his smooth cranium, it would appropriately squeak with cleanliness. Oh, Aloysius, why must you tease me so, with your stellar academic gear and head hygiene? Did I mention he taught a course on the Victorians at IvyLeagueSchool? Yeah. Like I’m ALMOST supposed to be able to handle that.
5. I obsess over the Paper Source and pretty much any other card/stationery store I come across. If you’ve ever checked out my other blog, Words&Eggs, you’re already familiar with this. It’s a disease, really. But not one I ever care to cure. Anyway, yesterday at my Paper Source Church, I bought this awesome leather-bound journal (no lines, please — I am not a fan of lines) which I have since labeled my “Creative Journal.” I have decided to take Paper Source’s tagline “Do Something Creative Everyday” quite literally. Therefore, everyday, I will write and/or draw and/or post found images or mementos or photos, etc. in my lovely little journal. Whatever the heck I want. No holds-barred, baby. Because… I miss my creative self. I miss it more and more as I get sucked into the Limitless Abyss that is Academia. ps) Paper Source has already stocked their collection of holiday cards, which almost resulted in cardiac arrest. MINE.
6. My sister’s pregnant with twins. It’s her first pregnancy. I’m going to be a first-time Auntie!!!! 
She’s a little over five months along now. And, as her devoted, dutiful sister, I am organizing a baby shower for her. Only, I’ve never attended a baby shower, let alone throw one. Let alone cook anything other than grilled cheese and mac & cheese and soup. Also, what’s up with those lame-and-freaky “baby shower games”?? Just the mention of it leads my mind ‘a reelin’, ultimately spewing out the words “DOES. NOT. COMPUTE.” So, if any of you have any suggestions for low-impact food ideas and/or pseudo-”games” (aka, ACTIVITIES. I definitely prefer the word ACTIVITIES), holla atcha girl. (umm, me)
7. Is it VP Debate night yet? Because I’m throwing a party, so I want to be sure I’m sufficiently prepared. I’m making Pistol-Packin’ Palin (pistol-shaped) Peanut-Butter Cookies. OK, so if you just read #6, then you know I don’t/can’t cook. I didn’t lie. My cookies consist of Pillsbury’s pre-made dough, which I then sculpt and mold into desirable objects… which inevitably end up looking like glorified chicken drumsticks. This is all assuming, of course, that I didn’t hoss all the cookie-dough prior to baking. And fall into a Salmonella coma.
Umm… I think I’m done.
Oh, but I did want to mention that this pointless list has been inspired by the lovely Anna at “abdpbt.”
How Epcot may save Sarah Palin…
s the stocks rumble and tumble and stumble and Bryant Gumbel (?!), I figured everyone could use a little pick-me-up. Or should I say a pick-YOU-up? Oh, whatever.
In any case, it is my sincere hope that some of you find the following at least a little chuckle-worthy. Consider it my 2008 Stock Market Crash Gift, especially for you. I know I know, you don’t have to tell me how kind and generous I am.
So, here’s the scoop: the one Onion that doesn’t cause me indigestion exclusively reports that Republican Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, is turning to Walt Disney World’s Epcot Center for comprehensive foreign policy cramming before the big Vice Presidential Debate on Thursday night. Word on the street is that she and her cronies plan to bribe Joe Biden and their debate audience with small toys from the Japan Pavilion’s ”The Kitahara Collection of Tin-Toys.” We’re onto you, S-Pay.
Palin Brushing Up On Foreign Policy At Epcot
SEPTEMBER 29, 2008
ORLANDO, FL—Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin sought to silence those who have criticized her lack of foreign affairs experience Tuesday by announcing plans for a weeklong, 10-nation tour of Walt Disney World’s Epcot. According to Palin, the trip—her first past Frontierland—will include speaking engagements at Norway’s famous Viking ride, sausages at Germany’s Kaufhaus, and, time permitting, a fact-finding mission to Future World. “This ambitious trip should finally demonstrate that I am ready to assume the vice presidency, whether by standing in long lines at Morocco’s Tangierine Café or by sitting down face-to-face with Mexico’s Three Caballeros,” Palin announced during a campaign stop outside a Chinese restaurant in Tulsa, OK. “All of our neighbors deserve good diplomacy, from the Universe of Energy down to the French pavilion.” Palin also promised a visit to the American Adventure exhibit before returning home, adding that she hoped to learn more about her own nation and the diverse peoples within.
(Source: THE ONION.COM)
Republican exploitation of Americans’ attention deficit…
his campaign season is wrecking me. Completely and (I fear) irrevocably wrecking me. Now, it would be one thing if it were only wrecking me. That I could handle — I’m used to it. But, as it turns out, everyone I talk to seems similarly disenchanted about how all of this is evolving — or devolving, as the case may be. It’s not just me. It’s EVERYONE. So, the fact that the two presidential contenders are in a virtual dead-heat only knocks my head against the wall even harder.
I wasn’t going to write anymore about politics — at least until the debates started — because I am so incredibly outraged and disappointed with the exploitation of utter absurdities that have absolutely no business gaining even 1/100th of the media coverage that they’ve managed to garner. And it’s no secret that all of these absurdities — ALL OF THEM — surround John McCain’s vice presidential pick.
Prior to the announcement of “Sarah Palin for Vice President,” McCain was giving press conferences in front of sausage “haus”es and supermarkets. Now, let’s juxtapose McCain’s “sausage haus” speech with Barack Obama’s speech to a German audience of 200,000 people. Umm… hello? Granted, yes, the Republicans are obviously clamoring for the small-town-blue-collar-hockey-mom vote. I get it. But, come on. If Obama’s campaign trail made a stop at a sausage haus, you can bet that thousands would show by word-of-mouth alone. The turnout for a McCain speech was positively dismal. And with good reason, I’d say. Objectively speaking, McCain’s forte lies NOT in his oration, “my friends.” He is awkward and uninspiring and sterile. Not to mention repetitive, “my friends.”
But now… ooooohhhhh, but NOW… SP has entered the game. And her entry has highlighted exactly that: the game-ness of it. The competition. The pitbull nature (with or without lipstick, I don’t give a rat’s A) of the Republican spindoctors who, rather than speak to Americans’ intellects and best interests, instead focus on the media- and technology-inflicted A.D.D. that now runs rampant in our culture. I’ll hand it to the Republicans: they are d@mn good at “strategery.” And they often get away with it. Which, unfortunately, doesn’t say a whole hell of a lot about us as Americans, because it means that we fall for their evasive (and divisive) drivel. So, realizing that Johnny Mac can’t hold the attention of 15 people in front of a sausage haus, his campaign managers understand that he needs some type of electric boost. A distraction, if you will, to transfer Americans’ attention OFF of the near-death, monotone Presidential candidate and ONTO something attractive and time-consuming. Because, let’s face it, McCain could definitely use some borrowed time. In a lot of areas.
So the self-proclaimed maverick, Johnny Mac, surprises us all (and even surprises his own staff) by selecting a little-known conservative, female governor from Alaska, named Sarah Palin. Emphasis on “conservative,” and double the emphasis on “female.” And let’s not forget young-ish and attractive, which shouldn’t matter, but both campaigns and the media keep shoving it in our faces. And, ooh, what a small-town family unit, those Palins. They attend church and don’t get abortions and they even hunt together! Exactly the complement McCain was looking for. Except I don’t even think he (or his advisors) could have predicted the snowball effect that his VP pick has had. What’s the saying? “There’s no such thing as bad publicity?” Well… I wish that could be proven untrue in this case. But, if anything, the obsessive coverage of all things Palin has only proven that it is unfailingly true.
The American public’s attention is drawn to the sensational. The very morning after a celebrity’s politician’s picture is leaked, a phrase is uttered, a testimonial from a hometown member is received, the VERY NEXT MORNING, we can find it on a thousand blogs and plastered on the cover of all of the pop-culture and political magazines, whether in print or televised media. The Republican camp knows that, if it’s in our face, we’ll consume it. And Sarah Palin is nowhere BUT in our face. Which is just how McCain wants it. Because we certainly weren’t interested in HIM staring us down all over the place. And he knows that. And he saw those earlier polls where Obama had a distinct lead. And he saw the electricity and inspiration fostered by an Obama speech. And he (and his campaign staff) knew he couldn’t stand a chance next to Obama… unless something brighter and shinier entered stage left.
Enter Sarah Palin. And now we’re feeding off of that entry and everything that could possibly come along with it. Her daughter’s a pregnant teenager? SHOW ME THE PICTURE! Her youngest son has Down Syndrome? TELL ME THE STORY! She’s a hockey mom? HOLY HELL, SHE’S ONE OF US! She lied about earmarks and supporting the “Bridge to Nowhere?” TELL ME MORE CONTROVERSIAL STATEMENTS ABOUT THIS WOMAN WE KNOW ALMOST NOTHING ABOUT! She tried to ban books when she was mayor of a town of 8,000 people? WHAT ELSE CAN YOU FEED ME? She thinks gays can/should be converted by Christian education? YES, THIS IS THE EXACT JUICE I NEEDED!!!!!
But, I’m sorry, what? What was that? We know nothing about her stance on foreign affairs or the economy or the war in Iraq or THE ECONOMY or THE WAR IN IRAQ or THE ECONOMY or THE WAR IN IRAQ or…?!?!?!?!? Oh yeeeaaaah… I forgot that the majority of the world now detests the U.S.A. due to the fact that our President for the past 8 years managed to make possibly every wrong decision he could, thereby turning us into imperialistic occupiers that many people now despise. Lovely. Oh, and we’re on the verge of a recession. Fabulous. Oh yeah, and millions of Americans have no health insurance. Stupendous. I could keep going, but my personal wreckage is already overwhelming…
I wish everyone would just stop. JUST STOP. Pause. Take a breath. Refocus. Dilate your eyes. Do whatever you need to observe the landscape logically, cautiously, slowly, and with a keen eye on the future of our country and where we are currently headed. This has nothing to do with hockey or pitbulls or, for crying out loud, LIPSTICK. This has nothing to do with Joe Biden coming from Scranton or Sarah Palin coming from Wasilla. It has to do with the PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES first and foremost. And it also has to do with credentials, convictions, practical solutions to current problems and the prioritization of those problems, how decisions are made (*ahem* including Vice Presidential picks), etc. etc.. This is the meat we SHOULD be consuming. And if we could just sit still and look straight ahead rather than sideways, up and down, and backward at all of the glittering fluff that so often (strategically) causes our attention deficit… the dead-heat would cool down and the most positive, self-possessed leader would emerge, determined to make this country, our lives, and the world a better place. The leader, not the vice-leader.
And lipstick has nothing to do with it.
My apologies for the ranting/venting nature of this pog… my frustration runneth’ed (?!) over and I just had to let it out for the sake of my health. And the sake of my slumber. Now I think I’ll be able to sleep tonight.
Happy Thursday.
Opposite Day. And the “C word,” again.
eriously, can’t she just stop? Because I really Really REALLY was hoping that the Palinator wouldn’t be taking up anymore of my precious pog space for a looooonnnnng long time.
But then she had to go and favorably refer to herself as a “pitbull with lipstick.” As if that’s a good thing?
And then she had to go and belittle Barack Obama for having been a community organizer. As if that’s a bad thing?
She's as sweet as a lipstick-wearin' pitbull.
Pitbull = doesn’t get along with people. Community organizer = bringing people together. I’m sorry, which is the preferred quality for a national leader? Or was yesterday Opposite Day and I just didn’t get the memo? Because, correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure our country and its pathetically dwindling reputation have gone swiftly down the sh*tter due to too much of the former, and too little of the latter.
And then she had to go and, yet again, pander to her GOP Parents of Athletic Children Fanbase (PACF) by proudly touting herself as “a hockey mom.” As if that EVEN FREAKIN’ MATTERS?!? Can someone please explain to me how “hockey mom” has become synonymous with VP preparedness?!?!? And it’s not a sexism thing AT ALL… if some potential VP dude was touting that he was a “hockey dad” and a “pitbull with a beard,” I’d be arguing the exact same thing.
I just don’t get how the GOP can have everything so backwards. Nor am I able to comprehend why/how so many people are congratulating SP for being the “new political rockstar” and for having hit “a grand-slam home run” with her speech, which, from where I was sitting, could only be characterized by negativity, divisiveness, mockery, and petty high-school-student-body-president ugliness.
I figured I’d feel better after getting a good night’s sleep. I was wrong. As I listened to NPR today, I unfortunately became more frustrated and increasingly disheartened that the GOP delegates not only support but encourage that brand of politics. The DNC was respectfully run, focusing on the democratic candidates’ strengths rather than their opponents’ alleged weaknesses. But the GOP convention has done precisely the contrary and, as a result, has left me with a vomit-inducing, heinous taste in my mouth. And it makes me sad.
And then I had to go and read this little gem:
Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. “She asked the library how she could go about banning books,” he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. “The librarian was aghast.” That woman, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn’t be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving “full support” to the mayor. (source: Time online, 9/02/08).
As if I already wasn’t falling into a pitbull-induced catatonic state, but now I have to find out that SP is also an advocate of the dreaded “C word” (and no, I don’t mean the one that rhymes with “stunt”)?!?!?
You mess with books, you mess with me. Now it’s personal, you frothing-at-the-lipsticked-mouth hockey mom!
Forgetting the Vetting & Most Likely Regretting…
K, so when I pogged yesterday about Sarah Palin (SP), the “Babygate” scandal, and the rightly declared “off-limits” status of politicians’ families throughout this campaign season, I tried my best to leave my personal political leanings out of the equation. Obviously, if you take a gander to the right side of my blog, you’ll see a couple Obama images that immediately illustrate my presidential pick. And if you’ve read my previous politically-scoped pogs, you’re further aware of my democratic perspectives. That being said, I like to think that I can at least temporarily set aside those views and maintain an objective focus. At least temporarily. Though, with each passing day of the McCain/Palin hoopla (yeah, I said “hoopla”), it becomes more and more excruciating to hold my politically biased tongue (or fingers, since we’re in Blog Land).
http://www.weeklystandard.com/
In the past 24 hours, more information has surfaced that does not bode well for SP, let alone for John McCain’s vetting process (or lack thereof). I was listening to NPR earlier, and it was confirmed by a Republican strategist that McCain intended to select Joe Lieberman as his running mate but, at the last minute, his campaign advisors urged against it due to Lieberman’s pro-choice stance (view today’s NPR ”Day to Day” emission here). Caught empty-handed and scrambling for a conservative to stand alongside him, Johnny M. thought of Sarah Palin. And his crew got to Googling, not contacting any Alaskan newspapers or colleagues/friends so as to keep the selection a secret. Because, apparently, sucky, last-minute candidate research is much more important than the chance of a name leaking out to the press?!?
A story published in today’s issue of The Anchorage Daily News confirmed the lack of SP vetting:
Alaska Senate President Lyda Green, R-Wasilla, told The New York Times, “They didn’t speak to anyone in the Legislature, they didn’t speak to anyone in the business community.”
Wasilla Mayor Dianne Keller said she had not heard of any efforts to look into Palin’s background, the Times reported. And Randy Ruedrich, the state Republican Party chairman, said he knew nothing of any vetting that had been conducted.
State Sen. Hollis French, a Democrat who is directing the legislative investigation, said that no one asked him about the allegations. “I heard not a word, not a single contact,” he told the Times. (source: Anchorage Daily News, 9/02/08)
Johnny Mc’s questionable selection — and selection process — are one thing, but the news that SP has made several contradictory remarks about certain key decisions in her Alaskan governorship are equally as disturbing. If you’ve seen clips of Palin’s nationally televised acceptance speech last week (aka, if you have a pulse), then you undoubtedly heard her tout her rejection of the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere:”
“I told Congress, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’ on that bridge to nowhere. ‘If our state wanted a bridge,’ I said, ‘we’d build it ourselves.’” (source: Washington Post, 9/02/08)
Nice work, SP. Only problem is: you backed the “Bridge to Nowhere” in 2006. And The Anchorage Daily News quoted you on it. Oops. You know what else SP oopsied on? Earmarks (aka, wasteful spending). So far, SP and JM have been building a platform on their opposition to wasteful spending; however, a Washington Post investigation today revealed an SP history of serious spending. And not just on guns.
Republican Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, selected by Sen. John McCain as his running mate, has largely burnished her reformer image by repudiating wasteful spending.
But as a small-town mayor and a governor Palin did not hesitate to embrace the federal earmark process, according to a Washington Post report by Paul Kane that shows Palin helped secure almost $27 million in projects for her tiny hometown of Wasilla, Alaska. (source: Washington Post, 9/02/08)
BIG OOPS (I almost quoted Britney Spears’s first #1 hit, but… come on, that’s just too easy. Also, there’s that whole baby-mama angle that I’d like to curtail).
So… my own democratic leanings aside… COME ON! Objectively, there are some serious issues to be raised here — and that ARE being raised here — regarding not only SP and her leadership, but, more importantly I think, JM and his uninformed, haphazard method of selecting a running mate and second-in-line to the most powerful office in the country. It boggles my mind that, somehow, McCain and Obama are still neck-and-neck in the polls.
ps) There is a great, thought-provoking post regarding Sarah Palin and what her VP nomination means for women here.
SP for VP… baby stuff
hat re-dick Sarah Palin “babygate scandal” turned out to be… re-dick. Go figure. Some bloggers who clearly have way too much time on their hands have enjoyed fabricating a rumor in recent days that Sarah Palin’s youngest born, Trig, was actually her 17-year-old daughter Bristol’s baby, and that SP and her husband were involved in a cover-up operation to protect their name–err, daughter. Not-so-nice try, Conspiracy Theorists, but umm… not so freakin’ much.
This rumor has been cleared up in today’s issue of the Anchorage Daily News, where the Palins clarify that Trig is indeed SP’s and her husband’s child. They did reveal, however, that their daughter Bristol is… (drumroll)… currently expecting. As in: a baby. And a rushed trip to the altar with the baby’s father in the next nine months. So I guess all the gossip hounds were thrown at least one semi-juicy bone. Though I wish they weren’t. Decency doesn’t recognize party lines. I’m not so sure why/if this news matters. As expected, Obama rightly declared today that candidates’ children should be “off-limits” in this election, and he also dismissed any judgment toward the Palins, citing his own childhood with his single mother . Hopefully certain anti-SPers will respectfully follow suit and leave her family alone. As for me, I am only pogging about this because I think it’s important to dispel the horrendous “babygate” rumor mentioned above… and alluded to below (OK, this was creative, I gotta admit):
http://www.blognetnews.com/alaska/feed.php?channel=3
Hurricanes vs. Ice Cream. And Sarah Palin.
hile my version of divine intervention involves an ice creamy divinity (specifically: the Friendly’s Reese’s Pieces Sundae, discussed and pictured here), the ever-so-soft-spoken Michael Moore (ha!) seems to maintain a slightly different view:
Michael Moore on MSNBC, talking with Keith Olbermann (YouTube video)
Ok, so M-squared was a tad distasteful and flippant regarding the current disastrous potential of Hurricane Gustav; but he was right on target (in my humble opinion) with his comments regarding the Democratic vs. Republican tickets. No pun intended toward Sarah Palin’s marksmanship abilities. I’m going to save my personal opinions regarding McCain’s ballsy VeePee pick and simply say: the debates should be interesting.
Meanwhile, The Daily Show’s roving women’s issues correspondent (and “Vagina-American”), Samantha Bee, is psyched about Hillary’s “gynecological twin”:
Stephen Colbert also couldn’t help but chime in (once he figured out who the F Sarah Palin was), excitedly touting her historic rise to VP-dom by deeming her “the first female reaching the highest levels of being used as a cheap political ploy”:
Stephen Colbert discusses McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin (Comedy Central video)
I must admit that, although I find McCain’s VP choice rather questionable and reckless, I am more disillusioned by the amount of attention that was immediately — and which continues to be — cast upon Governor Palin’s appearance and other (what I would deem) irrelevant issues. Yes, she and Tina Fey may have been separated at birth. Yes, in 1984 she won the Miss Wasilla beauty pageant and subsequently finished Second Runner-Up in the Miss Alaska pageant. Yes, she has five children, the youngest of whom has Down Syndrome. 
Her oldest son is enlisted in the U.S. Army and will soon be headed off to Iraq. Her husband Todd works for BP and is a champion snowmobiler. Yippee-freakin’-kai-yay. There are slews of pictures of “America’s Hottest Governor“ — both photoshopped and authentic — inundating the blogosphere, complete with raunchy comments and sensationalized quips. And, on occasion, you’ll find some decent political commentary related to her ideological stances on some of the most critical political issues, and justifiable challenges to her preparedness for the VP slot (backing up a 72-year-old potential President with major health concerns). Give me the core, not the lackluster, waxy coating. I want to know about her lifetime NRA membership and her Pro-Life stance, among other things. The Vice Presidency is a “runner-up” position that deserves exponentially more attention than her standing in the Miss Alaska pageant.
In any event… the Republican Convention begins today. And I’m very curious to learn “who the f*ck is Sarah Palin?”
Happy September.
