Oh man, politics are terrible.
I think that’s a statement that few people would disagree with, regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum. So far, I’ve been trying to keep this blog free of politics, partly because it gets people riled up and annoyed, and that doesn’t work for this blog; Sitzblog is a uniter, not a divider. Also, the other reason I don’t mention politics much is because—let’s face it—it’s pretty boring to read about politics. So I’ve generally tried to machete-carve a different path through the blogosphere jungle, but for this post and one that will go up in a few days, I’m going to roll up my sleeves, get my hands dirty, use some tired clichés, and talk about politics.
I have to admit that McCain’s vice-presidential pick, Sarah Palin, has at least gotten people talking. Or that’s what it seems to me. I haven’t actually watched a TV news show since…well, for months and months. I also missed Palin’s apparently electrifying RNC speech, which I guess lit a fire under both Republican and Democrat asses. I get basically all of my news about the U.S. through the internet media, and there are inherent advantages and disadvantages to that. One of the advantages, though, is that the delivery of eloquently-written and fired-up speeches is largely lost, and only the written content and ideas remain. As a result of this, I have begun to favor Obama, while at the same time I’ve begun to seriously question the veracity of McCain and the competence of Palin.
Let me explain this in an roundabout way. I have been continually amazed over the selling points of Palin, which basically all seem to revolve around three ideas, namely, that she: 1) is a working mother; 2) is a lifelong member of the NRA; 3) apparently can kill and butcher a moose. Somehow, all of these three points are supposed to illustrate that she’s a capable leader who is still “in-touch with the common people.” To me, however, she seems a bit like my mom…if my mom were bat-shit insane and had access to a large arsenal of hockey sticks and guns, both of which she would use to kill moose. Now that I think about it, I still don’t believe that my mom would make a good vice-president (Sorry, mom, but I love you just as you are, and I wouldn’t want you to be "changed" by Washington!), but she would probably be as good as—or even better than—Sarah Palin.
As to the other two gun-and-moose related points, all I have to say is this: If John McCain is elected president, there’s a very real possibility that he wouldn’t finish an 8- or even 4-year term. He’s statistically in the danger zone, health-wise, and if you couple that with the fact that a good number of presidents haven’t lived to see the inauguration of their successor, then you should probably start becoming concerned. Do you really think that she’s qualified to be our president? If so, then vote McCain-Palin. But be sure you can confidently answer a few questions: Sure, Palin can shoot and field dress a moose, but can she do that with an unruly foreign dictator? Sure, she’s mildly attractive in a Republican, if-that’s-what- you’re-into type of way, but she still can’t hold a candle to the Ukranian prime minister, hottie Yulia Tymoshenko
(Shown in the picture on the right...her hair reminds me of a delicious bread). And finally, sure, Palin flip-flopped and was against a bridge to nowhere after she was for it, but technically, isn’t all of Alaska basically considered “nowhere”?
All of these questions should be on the mind of the nation, but especially on the minds of Republicans. About 10 years ago, I held no political affiliation, but I personally leaned towards a sort of Traditional, Green Social-Conservo-Democrat-Islamofascit political outlook (I include the “Islamofascist” part because it’s a word that's so hilariously ridiculous and overblown that it makes me chuckle every time I hear it). In the 2000 election, I probably would have voted for McCain, had he been the Republican candidate. I was also one of those who said that if Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination, I would vote for McCain. But after seeing the woman that John McCain thinks is the most qualified person in the entire country to take over power should he die, I now realize that he’s just as crazy as she is.
By the way, if, like me, you happen to be living abroad during this coming election, then there’s still a good chance you can cast a ballot. Follow this link to the Federal Voting Assistance Program to find more details about having the last state and county you resided in mail your ballot to you. I did it, so we’ll see if the democratic process—as well as international postal service—really works.
(Tymoschenko photo credit: www.ukraine-observer.com)
I have to admit that McCain’s vice-presidential pick, Sarah Palin, has at least gotten people talking. Or that’s what it seems to me. I haven’t actually watched a TV news show since…well, for months and months. I also missed Palin’s apparently electrifying RNC speech, which I guess lit a fire under both Republican and Democrat asses. I get basically all of my news about the U.S. through the internet media, and there are inherent advantages and disadvantages to that. One of the advantages, though, is that the delivery of eloquently-written and fired-up speeches is largely lost, and only the written content and ideas remain. As a result of this, I have begun to favor Obama, while at the same time I’ve begun to seriously question the veracity of McCain and the competence of Palin.
Let me explain this in an roundabout way. I have been continually amazed over the selling points of Palin, which basically all seem to revolve around three ideas, namely, that she: 1) is a working mother; 2) is a lifelong member of the NRA; 3) apparently can kill and butcher a moose. Somehow, all of these three points are supposed to illustrate that she’s a capable leader who is still “in-touch with the common people.” To me, however, she seems a bit like my mom…if my mom were bat-shit insane and had access to a large arsenal of hockey sticks and guns, both of which she would use to kill moose. Now that I think about it, I still don’t believe that my mom would make a good vice-president (Sorry, mom, but I love you just as you are, and I wouldn’t want you to be "changed" by Washington!), but she would probably be as good as—or even better than—Sarah Palin.
As to the other two gun-and-moose related points, all I have to say is this: If John McCain is elected president, there’s a very real possibility that he wouldn’t finish an 8- or even 4-year term. He’s statistically in the danger zone, health-wise, and if you couple that with the fact that a good number of presidents haven’t lived to see the inauguration of their successor, then you should probably start becoming concerned. Do you really think that she’s qualified to be our president? If so, then vote McCain-Palin. But be sure you can confidently answer a few questions: Sure, Palin can shoot and field dress a moose, but can she do that with an unruly foreign dictator? Sure, she’s mildly attractive in a Republican, if-that’s-what- you’re-into type of way, but she still can’t hold a candle to the Ukranian prime minister, hottie Yulia Tymoshenko
(Shown in the picture on the right...her hair reminds me of a delicious bread). And finally, sure, Palin flip-flopped and was against a bridge to nowhere after she was for it, but technically, isn’t all of Alaska basically considered “nowhere”?All of these questions should be on the mind of the nation, but especially on the minds of Republicans. About 10 years ago, I held no political affiliation, but I personally leaned towards a sort of Traditional, Green Social-Conservo-Democrat-Islamofascit political outlook (I include the “Islamofascist” part because it’s a word that's so hilariously ridiculous and overblown that it makes me chuckle every time I hear it). In the 2000 election, I probably would have voted for McCain, had he been the Republican candidate. I was also one of those who said that if Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination, I would vote for McCain. But after seeing the woman that John McCain thinks is the most qualified person in the entire country to take over power should he die, I now realize that he’s just as crazy as she is.
By the way, if, like me, you happen to be living abroad during this coming election, then there’s still a good chance you can cast a ballot. Follow this link to the Federal Voting Assistance Program to find more details about having the last state and county you resided in mail your ballot to you. I did it, so we’ll see if the democratic process—as well as international postal service—really works.
365: Picture a Day Project 365 Leftovers All My Pictures Sitzbook
3 comments:
Well said, sir. It's unbelievable to me that so many people are actually excited about Palin as VP. Among the rationalizations I've heard: "Alaska is really close to Russia, so she has foreign policy experience." Yeah.
That Ukranian PM is pretty cute. But I don't even think Palin is that good looking anyways. She has a bigger jaw than McCain and that's saying something. Ok, maybe that's not so much a jawbone that McCain has as it is a triple chin of flappy old man skin. Palin's is the kinda jaw that you get while chewing tobacco, sitting up in an evergreen tree waiting for moose... if that's how you hunt for moose.
I definitely DON'T think Palin is good looking, which is why I said "if that's what you're into." Which I'm not. I've not really noticed her jaw, though. I guess all the moose jerky gets you good mouth muscles.
And by the way...why kill a moose?! If I'm not mistaken, wouldn't that be about as challenging as hunting a cow? I've seen live moose, and they all seemed pretty slow and stupid.
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