Sarah Palin as McCain's Veep

[Asmodean]

Oh... It's kinda' like turning a frown upside down, isn't it..?  

[Msblue]

Here's a quick video about her attempt to ban books.

[youtube:2e8gktdk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1kLecUOmlY[/youtube:2e8gktdk]

[afreethinker30]

Since Mrs Palin’s nomination as John McCain’s Republican running-mate 11 days ago, her social and religious beliefs have become subjected to intense scrutiny. As a supporter of the teaching of Creationism in schools, an opponent of abortion â€" even in cases of rape or incest â€" and a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, she threatens to reopen the culture war that has scarred American politics for a quarter of a century.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article4720440.ece

I hear Canada is nice?!? One article says she pushed it the other says she hasn't.Either way she believes Jesus rode dinosaurs.I think that's a bit scary.

According to an October 2006 profile in the Anchorage Daily News, Palin opposes stem cell research, physician-assisted suicide, and state health benefits for same-sex partners.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/08/30/a_valentine_to_evangelical_base/

http://www.ontheissues.org/Sarah_Palin.htm

[Reasoner]

It's difficult to decide which is more absurd: the over the top media shout that alternates between Palin praise and Palin ridicule, or the deer-in-the-headlights former beauty queen herself, who clearly is only starting to realize the depth of the shit in which she is wading. Because she is a token in every sense of he word, it's hard to see her as truly dangerous; her handlers do not intend for her to have anything like real power. She is there to serve as both beacon and smoke screen; she attracts the basic christians and provides a feminine fog filter for the pro-war, pro-hunting contingents' agendas.

For some (including myself) it took a few days for the full impact of the cynicism of the Palin pick to sink in. But as if the grand opera of Minority Candidate vs Substantial Woman Candidate that the press fed voraciously on during the Democratic primary season wasn't enough, the Repubs have chosen both femaleness and inspiring biblical fundamentalism as their a la carte choices for their election season menu.

Even if their choices do not yield victories, both parties have made history, at least with those who shave things fine in the "first of" categories. But the Republicans, with their choice of a woman who cannot possibly lead with a will and an intellect of her own if called upon to so so, have made the ultimate "first" female choice.

How Republican of them.

[rlrose328]

Hell, right now, she's holed up at home in Alaska with a crew of McCain's folks tutoring her on everything from Iran's nuclear stance, Iraq war, the difference between Hizballah and Al Qaeda, the national debt, foreign trade imbalance... so much more.  The only thing she seems to know more about than McCain is fuel.

I read the cover article on Newsweek today (9/15 issue) and I'm beyond shocked at their choice of Palin.  Token is exactly correct.

She has enough scandals in her political past to rival politicians who have been around for 10 years or more.  Her flipflop on the Bridge to Nowhere, the ongoing investigation into her squabble with her BIL, and the nepotism... wow.  And now, McCain's camp is trying to hurry up and hush the investigation on the BIL case.

I know no one is squeaky clean, especially in politics, but this woman... wow.  

[curiosityandthecat]

Here's a quick video about her attempt to ban books.

[youtube:74unvht8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1kLecUOmlY[/youtube:74unvht8]

Okay, I work in a library, and this is ridiculous. I'm also a licensed English teacher, and this is even more ridiculous.

Oh, and I'm a semi-intelligent person who believes information should be free, so it's absolutely ridiculous.

Banning books? Having books removed from libraries? Honestly, the left eye of the librarian side of me is twitching like crazy right now. I've sent the link to this video to the library listserv just in case some of the other staff members haven't been exposed to this. If there's one thing we can all rally around, regardless of political affiliation or religious conviction, it's the complete and utter disdain and detestation of censorship.

[Palin / McCain / Bush / the GOP] can destroy everything, except for books. [She / he / it] may censor, ban or even burn them, but the ideas contained in books can never be destroyed. As José Martí once said, paper trenches are stronger than those built in stone."

Carlos was referring to Castro, incidentally. I just changed it to make a point.

In case anyone's interested, here's a little list of quotes on the same subject. Book burning. Not Castro.

[spoiler:74unvht8]"The paper burns, but the words fly away."
Ben Joseph AKIBA
Jewish Palestinian religious leader (A.D. C. 50- C.135)

"You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them."
Ray BRADBURY
U.S. science-fiction writer (1920-)

"There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches."
Ray BRADBURY
U.S. science-fiction writer (1920-)

"Somewhere the saving and putting away had to begin again and someone had to do the saving and keeping, one way or another, in books, in records, in people's heads, any way at all so long as it was safe, free from moths, silverfish, rust and dry rot, and men with matches."
Ray BRADBURY
U.S. science-fiction writer (1920-)

"When the regime ordered
Books with dangerous knowledge
To be burned in public and everywhere
Oxen were forced to pull, carts with books
to the bonfires, one of the persecuted poets
discovered one of the best
studying the list of the burned
disconcerted, that his books were forgotten.
He rushed to his desk, flying on wings of rage
and wrote a letter to the the authorities.
Burn me! he wrote with a quick stroke
Burn me! don't do this to me! Do not spare me!
Have I not always reported the truth in my books?
Yet now you treat me as were I a liar!
I command you: Burn me! "
Bertolt BRECHT
Poem titled "The Bookburning" (Die Bücherverbrennung)
German dramatist and poet (1898-1956)

"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. "
Joseph Alexandrovitch BRODSKY
1991
Russian-American poet, b. St. Petersburg and exiled 1972 (1940-1996)

"Don't join the book burners. Do not think you are going to conceal thoughts by concealing evidence that they ever existed."
Dwight David EISENHOWER
American general and 34th President of the United States (1890â€"1969)

"Every burned book enlightens the world."
Ralph Waldo EMERSON
American poet and essayist (1803-1882)

"Castro can destroy everything, except for books. He may censor, ban or even burn them, but the ideas contained in books can never be destroyed. As José Martí once said, paper trenches are stronger than those built in stone."
Carlos FRANQUI
Cuban writer, poet, journalist, art critic (1921- )

"What progress we are making. In the Middle Ages they would have burned me. Now they are content with burning my books."
Sigmund FREUD
1933
Austrian psychiatrist (1856-1939)

"... the military don't burn books any more: they sell them to the paper manufacturers. The paper companies shred them, pulp them and put them back on the market for consumption. It is not true that Marx, Freud or Piaget are unavailable to the public. In book form they are not. But they are in the form of serviettes."
Eduardo GALEANO
Uruguayan writer, story-teller, journalist and historian (1940-)

"Wherever they burn books they will also, in the end, burn human beings."
Heinrich HEINE
Almansor: A Tragedy, 1823
Used as inscription on memorial at Dachau concentration camp
German poet (1797-1856)[/spoiler:74unvht8]

[Reasoner]

This not only nails all the horror of what Palin's candidacy means. It also snapshots an America where the effects of under-education and an emphasis on personality over substance make Idiocracy an everyday reality:
http://www.alternet.org/election08/100551/

[Brian]

McCain is trying to undermine everyone's intelligence, especially women, by choosing a female VP.

Here's a video listing about everything Sarah Palin's done as Mayor and Governor of Alaska.
"Sarah PALIN For CENSORSHIP"
[youtube:adpvshi2]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUZgYqGtEy8[/youtube:adpvshi2]

This is a video where a CONSERVATIVE columnist wants Palin to drop out!
"Sarah Palin is as Dumb as a Bag of Hair"
[youtube:adpvshi2]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru996Q_7ejw[/youtube:adpvshi2]

[rlrose328]

That first video asks the question, is this the type of executive you want elected to office (or something like that) and the answer from ME is NO, not even.  BUT... that is exactly the type that the conservatives want.  That is the epitomy of the strong father model and that's the model they are drawn to.  (source:  "Don't Think of an Elephant," George Lackoff)

I have a question about that video (and others from YouTube)... when it was talking about how she banned books, a little box popped up at the bottom stating "There is no list of books, for more info, see video."  Did the poster of the video put that on there?  If so, it makes no sense to use that as a selling point in the video if that popup insinuates that it may not be true.  My research has indicated that no such list exists but the story gets convoluted from there.  Her camp states that a patron had complained about a book the year before and that Ms. Palin (whom I'm firmly against, btw) was merely asking about policy regarding book removal complaints (which seems all to innocent, considering all of her other reported behaviors).  A TIme Magazine article, however, states:

[Former Wasilla mayor] 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.

She fired the librarian because she felt the librarian was not giving Palin her "full support."  THAT, at least, fits with a banned book story as opposed to the inquiry story.

Just one of the many reasons I do not, in any way, shape, or form, support this woman for ANY office... even dog catcher.

[Brian]

That first video asks the question, is this the type of executive you want elected to office (or something like that) and the answer from ME is NO, not even.  BUT... that is exactly the type that the conservatives want.  That is the epitomy of the strong father model and that's the model they are drawn to.  (source:  "Don't Think of an Elephant," George Lackoff)

I have a question about that video (and others from YouTube)... when it was talking about how she banned books, a little box popped up at the bottom stating "There is no list of books, for more info, see video."  Did the poster of the video put that on there?  If so, it makes no sense to use that as a selling point in the video if that popup insinuates that it may not be true.  My research has indicated that no such list exists but the story gets convoluted from there.  Her camp states that a patron had complained about a book the year before and that Ms. Palin (whom I'm firmly against, btw) was merely asking about policy regarding book removal complaints (which seems all to innocent, considering all of her other reported behaviors).  A TIme Magazine article, however, states:

[Former Wasilla mayor] 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.

She fired the librarian because she felt the librarian was not giving Palin her "full support."  THAT, at least, fits with a banned book story as opposed to the inquiry story.

Just one of the many reasons I do not, in any way, shape, or form, support this woman for ANY office... even dog catcher.

The reason why it says that there's no list is that there were people who posted a list of books, which turned out to be fabricated. The guy who created that video wanted to clarify that any list posted were just rumors on the internet by an unreliable source.

[rlrose328]

The reason why it says that there's no list is that there were people who posted a list of books, which turned out to be fabricated. The guy who created that video wanted to clarify that any list posted were just rumors on the internet by an unreliable source.

Thanks, Brian... I'm not familiar enough with posting videos on YouTube to know if it was or wasn't put there by some unknown source, like advertising.  I did find that list... there's an entry in Snopes about the list of books.

Wish the list WERE true... it would further justify how I feel about her potential candidacy.

[LSchune]

To be quite honest, before all the hullaballoo concerning the vice presidential running mates, I was very much neutral in my decision between Obama and McCain.  Neither, I felt, was EXACTLY what the United States needs right now.  McCain truly reminds me of Bush, and I just plain didn't like Obama.  I initially was just going to go in and choose the lesser of the two evils as my pick for president.

However, McCain screwed himself, 'cause there's no way in hell he's going to get my vote as long as Palin's name is attached to his.  Every new fact I learn about this woman, I find myself loathing her more and more.  From her complete ignorance about EVERYTHING, to her pathetic excuse for a political resume, I find myself having this extreme aversion to her.

Obama is not and has never been my perfect candidate, but he will be getting my vote in this election.  No way am I going to chance the risk of waking up and seeing "And now, the President of the United States, Sarah Palin" on the news bulletin.

No.  No.  No.