The Dumbing of America: Palin and Joe the Plumber

I think I am witnessing the end of American civilization as I  know it. Americans continues to insist on being fed stupid rhetoric during election time and we come back asking for more from our supposed leaders.

Here is some of the stupid banalities we are being force fed and that we have begun to accept without question:

1. Only God fearing Christians are good and qualified to lead this country. This country was founded by Christian ideals and atheists need not apply. Average Americans act like they never heard of ancient Greece and democracy even though our founding fathers were steeped in the traditions of Socrates and Plato.  Talk about elitists! There is no such thing as a good atheists.

2. Greed and speculation is good and the government should just step out of the way that is until the system collapses of its own corruption.

3. Any foreign diplomatic solution short of war is appeasement and is a failure of the American spirit.

4. If you disagree with me you are not a true American.

5. Fairness is implied because you are born in America.

6. If you think too much you are part of the problem and are probably an elitist/socialist.

7. Only dumb-asses know what is good for Americans and thus are only qualified for leadership.

8. If I can’t have a beer with you or talk to you during my kid’s soccer game you are not qualified to lead.

9. Liberals, atheists and agnostics are all going to hell and need not apply for candidacy.

10. All of the problems with the US are directly attributable to liberals, atheists, illegal immigrants and lazy minorities.

11. With a lot of determination anybody can succeed in the US and become rich.  The American economy is the Lotto of the free enterprise system you just got to play it to win it! If you’re not rich it’s because you ae lazy or you didn’t want it enough.

12. Joe the plumber is an average American who wants to succeed at starting a small business and is not an opportunist.

13. Sarah Palin is a bright and gutsy mavericky politician. No Hillary is she.

14. Congress sucks but not my Congressmen, that’s why I keep reelecting him.

15.  There’s no such thing as political patronage; it’s the lobbyists that are killing this country.

16. My gun protects me from criminals and the government.

17. Republicans are better than Democrats for the economy.

18. Drill baby Drill.

19.  I don’t have to pay more taxes for the Iraq war, the bailouts, rebuilding New Orleans, health care or Social Security.

20. The future is so bright if the elitists would just get out of the way.

21. Politicians can make my life better if they would just listen to me!

22. Obama is the modern day equivalent of a political savior!

Be sure to vote otherwise you have no right to complain about the results!  Otherwise, I am reminded of the old Henrik Ibsen line about “the majority is always wrong; the minority is rarely right.”

Sarah Palin: Diva or Breastfeeding Super-Mom President?

As the election nears its conclusion ugly recriminations have begun to be exchanged within the McCain- Palin camps as to who is to blame for the failures of their campaign. Up to this point we have had Sarah Palin thrust upon us as the All-American Soccer Mom-Politician, sort of a new age take on Mrs. Smith takes on Washington. During her campaigning Sarah railed against Congress, the elite and mainstream media while basking in the light of adoring fans while at the same time breast feeding her son.

Why are such broad brush strokes used to describe Sarah? First, let me say one thing I do recognize about Americans is that we are not big on nuance. Take for instance the McCain supporter who claimed a black Obama supporter carved on the letter “B” on her face the other day. McCain’s Karl Rove operatives were all over the story leaking it to the press only to find out the dumb ass actually carved the letter herself backwards in a mirror. Oh, did she mention it was a dyslexic black Obama supporter? Again, we are not big on nuance and, hence, my somewhat offensive blog article title.

So as Sarah got elevated to Super-Mom status we find out a few ugly facts about McCain’s running mate. First, it was the $150,000 wardrobe makeover she and her family underwent not exactly the clothing allowance of your average soccer mom. This was followed by other rumblings such as this nugget from the McCain camp:

“Her lack of fundamental understanding of some key issues was dramatic,” said another McCain source with direct knowledge of the process to prepare Palin after she was picked. The source said it was probably the “hardest” to get her “up to speed than any candidate in history.”

That was followed by the insinuations that Sarah instead of being “Mrs. Joe” everybody was in fact a Diva not paying attention to the script she was given. It appears Sarah was being a bit like Hillary and playing for 2012 rather than 2008 when it appeared the McCain election was about to be lost.

There are other issues too that are not being addressed by the media and frankly, I don’t know or care if Sarah is nursing her youngest son but do Americans realize that for the first time in American history there is still a remote possibility that we could have an American President that is actually breastfeeding? Besides the prurient aspects of this possibility, this is obviously another nail in the coffin of the stuffy old, white guys who have been running and running down our country for the past two hundred plus years. Much has been made of Obama possibly being the first black president, second if you count Bill Clinton, but we never had a mother running this country and being the “Commander in Chief” before.

Other nations have already had female leaders typically Prime Ministers. These women tended to be older, mature types that had withstood the political winds of their respective countries. Some were maternal, perhaps loving partners to their respective mates but the essence that made them most feminine was long in the past by the time they took office. Face it, Palin is a younger, untried personality much like Obama. Plus, we know scientifically that women are genetically and hormonally different than their males counterparts. Accordingly, women have been treated very differently by Western culture and to some degree negatively. That has changed with the advent of total war and while we have had a prohibition against woman serving in combat units that does not mean they have been in harm’s way, particularly in Iraq, so the political sands have been slowly shifting in favor of women expanding their role in society.

Biden recently made a comment about Obama being tested during his first six months in office. A lot of people have been thinking that about an Obama presidency but Biden said this as a stupid off-the cuff remark that engendered all sort of comebacks from the McCain-Palin camp. But what if McCain wins and one morning several months into his presidency McCain never gets up. Come on, you know he is old enough to peacefully go in the middle of the night, right? Consequently, we would have the untried Palin as President and Commander in Chief of this country. Once she gets in office, terrorists decide to test her because hell that is what they do to any American President. They hold hostage a number of Americans and among the hostages are a number of children. Being a mother does this color her judgment and subsequently alter her tactical response to the situation?

Most people will say what the hell does her gender have to do with any of this? These are the same people who say race has nothing to do with this campaign. Nice brave, politically correct words but we all know differently. For the average African-American you don’t think Obama’s color makes a difference? Did Kennedy make a difference to voting Catholics in 1960? Kennedy’s Catholicism did not make a difference to some Protestants at that time? For the young, first-time voter you don’t think age makes a difference? You’re telling me they don’t think McCain is a fossil who can’t even boot a computer never mind download an MP3? You don’t think Hispanics don’t care that Obama is black? Or for that matter some white Americans don’t think he is a black Arab? Yes, brave politically correct words but not really grounded in the reality of the American electorate and the behavior of people in general. Nuance Alert: I didn’t say all Americans are rednecks but I did say they are human.

This type of fossil, conservative thinking about the ramifications of Palin being President is, of course, negated by the black man’s presence. After all, she is not running as President and Obama is and, for many Palin is clearly the lesser of two possible evils. If she ever got into the Oval office images of her kids playing would abound as she commanders the office of Chief Executive. Think of Kennedy and John John and you’ll scare the hell out of lot of people. Plus she could be breast feeding one of her brood at that time! Really, this is not an issue for the American people? How about America’s enemies? Think about Kennedy playing poker with Khrushchev during the Cuban Missile? Would a mother behave or negotiate differently with a powerful enemy knowing that her child could ultimately be killed by her decisions? What about your enemies who may not be so politically correct? If you’re Putin, do you reconsider annexing Georgia if a nursing mother is running the United States?

On second thought, maybe we need more of that type of maternal thinking in this world? Think about all the wars and stupid bloodshed we have seen started and waged by tired, old white men who were more concerned about their egos and place in history than they were concerned about the fates of their children. And, face it, nobody does total war like tired, old white men. Maybe a mother would be a refreshing change of pace and perhaps their perspective is one that is long overdue in our government? But isn’t Palin’s son serving in Iraq and isn’t she in favor of the war, claiming Iraq is a mission from God? Being a woman hasn’t stopped female suicide bombers, right?

Let’s face it, bringing this breastfeeding issue up is another variation on the old double standard, right and I am being little more than a sexist pig, correct? Nobody mainstream touches this topic but if you Google “Palin breastfeeding” there are over a million hits so Americans are talking about this topic. As to the double standard, hey guys can’t breastfeed and secondly, as I said before, men are very genetically and hormonally different from women despite what political correctness may say about the topic. Nuance Alert: I didn’t say men are better, I just said different. (As a matter of fact, woman are genetically superior to men because of their double-X chromosomes which can make them less susceptible to a variety of sex linked genetic diseases.)

And hello, Americans are still big on double standards. Hillary is allowed to squirt a few crocodile tears when she is being picked on and she didn’t get dinged too bad for her blatant display of womanly emotion. However, if a man was to do that during a campaign, well can you say sayonara to him in the polls? Moreover, we can make all sorts of aspersions about the young black guy being tested early on if he gets elected but we can’t question the nursing mother being tested? I don’t know, I just can’t figure this one out and I guess we’ll just let history take place next week.

Of Traitors, Terrorists and Secessionists and the Economy: 10 Questions for Obama and McCain

I took a unwanted hiatus from writing this blog for three weeks and upon my return I see that Obama is squarely ahead in the polls.  My feeling about this turn in events is so incredibly ambivalent, I’m not sure what to write.  Frankly, my real wish is to go back to 2000 and to see the true maverick McCain reemerge at some point during this campaign. That sadly is not to be.  Instead, the new conservative/fundamentalist McCain has turned off independent minded voters including Colin Powell but I find it equally difficult to embrace Obama as well. So I am stuck here ruminating about this election as I watch the death throes of the failed Bush presidency exert even more pain on this country. The economy is still tanking albeit not at the perilous rates of the past couple of weeks and everybody is trying to catch their breath.  Both candidates are doing their best to avert attention from the goings on hoping that Americans don’t wise up and start asking some truly tough questions.  Here are just are my ten questions the ones that “Joe the Plumber” missed asking:

1. It appears that Obama was palling around with terrorists but Sarah Palin has a history of partying out with secessionists while saying “God bless” to them at their conventions.  Yet, does anybody care in the mainstream media care or can they be bothered to bring this topic up with her? I don’t know, if you hang around people who hate the US and want to secede from the mainland, well, in my book, that’s just not cool. And to me, that is more important than focusing on whether or no she can see Russia from her backdoor.  All the secessionists want to do is keep the oil for themselves and give every Alaskan a small fortune for just living in that arctic wasteland.  Who do they think they are?  Saudi princes? Don’t they know that free rides are the province of Washington DC and lobbyists?

2. When billions of dollars are lost on Wall Street and none of theses financial troubles are reflected in past quarterly corporate statements does anybody go to jail?

3. Does anybody now know doubt that the precipitous rise in gas prices was driven solely by speculators and all at the expense of the American consumer?  Shouldn’t markets be driven by long term investment rather than short term gain?  What type of behavior are we driving here with the current tax code?

4. Should we continue to give loans to people who sign mortgage paperwork without knowing if they have a fixed or adjustable rate mortgage?  Can’t there be a legal requirement to state this more clearly?  And rather than give these idiots a bail out can’t we just move them to reasonable fix rate mortgage?  Oh yeah, I forogt without the ARM they couldn’t afford the monthly nut in the first place so never mind.

5. Why the hell would Republicans be interested in bringing to the floor a bill that gives corporations a break on their overseas investments?  We haven’t shipped enough American jobs overseas over the past decade? Can anybody question the short-sighted greedy wisdom of these stupid robber barons? How about a tax break for companies keeping manufacturing jobs here?  You know like the 10% funding the Chinese gave their factory owners over the past decade?  Nobody talks about that subsidy do they now? Not as long as we get cheap Chinese crap created by a multitude of dirty coal-powered plants.

6. Drill, baby drill? Hey morons, that newly drilled American oil is still going to be pegged to the market price of OPEC oil so how does that help save me money at the pump?  Plus, there’s not enough oil in the US to make a dent in the overall world market.  We’re like a crack baby when it comes to oil and its time to kick the habit and embrace other technologies including nuclear. Here’s an idea:  let the USA develop new energy technology and we sell it to the rest of the world. Then we don’t have to worry about the Middle East and Russia can go to hell with their oil. And just maybe we’ll have a positive impact on the global warming trend before we are all truly screwed.

7. Socialism sucks but is this new American economy truly reflective of free market capitalism? We all know the answer to that question and that’s without a course in macroeconomics.  After the bailouts how do we get back on track?  And does more profit necessarily mean more American jobs?

8.  Will anybody ever investigate the story of the WMDs in Iraq and our failed intelligence efforts? Or was the intelligence always there but instead was the intelligence actually missing in the Bush White House? Better yet, what the hell truly happened  on 9/11 and why is Osama Bin Laden still free?  How flawed is our current Pakistan foreign policy that we are not even allowed to take a shot at this prick? Are we even looking or do we need him to justify the hundreds of billions spent on defense?

8. After the hundreds of billions, no wait, make that several trillion dollars,  that were spent to bailout out our banking system and to bring democracy to Iraq is 70 billion dollars for bringing health care to all Americans too much to ask for?  Oh, yeah I forgot, that nagging socialism claim.

10. And finally, who did Lehman Brothers hire as their lobbyist firm in Washington?  With all of the hundreds of billions flying about for financial bailouts those guys truly really suck and dropped the ball. Maybe McCain picked them up to run his campagin with his other lobbyist friends.

With Americans both angry and scared who best to trust, the cool smooth talking Obama or the often angry, cranky old guy, McCain? My guess, barring a complete Obama collapse, is the cool reassuring guy.  I’m not convinced that is necessarily a good thing.

By the way have you noticed that with Obama firmly in the lead Hillary is suddenly more involved in his campaign? No sense in being irrelevent for the next four years she must be figuring.

No VP Debate: Sarah Palin Exudes Soccer Mom Values

Watching the latest debate was like déjà vu all over again.  Once again, Sarah Palin was lighter than a feather, all fluff, no substance and not an original thought in her pretty little head.  Not to worry though, Sarah’s got values say her fans.  Sort of like the latest NFL thug who after getting arrested has the fans saying you can’t suspend him, he’s got skills!

And, Joe doesn’t get off the hook either for this snore fest.  As I stated before, Joe has lost a bit on his fastball, witness how he tried to “characterized” John McCain.  Thought for a moment he was having a stroke but Joe Biden soon recovered to “bore again”.

So what’s the final scorecard on Sarah?

Round 3:  The VP  Debate

Here are my running comments as this debate bores on:

Some sample Sarah comments: “They don’t like America!” she said of foreign oil producers.  Well, they like our money.  About global warming, “Climate change is occurring but there are cyclical changes.” (paraphrase)  She doesn’t want to argue about it , but we got to “clean up the problem”. Huh?

Sarah’s answers are a long, rambling, run-on sentences, I mean does this woman ever take a breathe? Please, get some oxygen to your brain, Sarah! Take a  breath will you?

Same sex couples?  She’ll be tolerant and, get this, she digs diversity! She doesn’t support anything but one man and one woman. But then again Joe and Obama weaseled out on the gay issue.

As to Iraq, remember that Bush money pit? “We got to win in Iraq” and then it’s off to Afghanistan, she said. Who’s Talibbany by the way?  Iran, guess what, no nukes says Sarah. Why?  They hate America! Okay but where’s the beef?  And don’t bother looking Joe’s way.  He and Obama look like they are content to run the clock out thinking they have a lead. Hey, there are 30 plus day left in the election!

So far, no major faux pas from Sarah but I think I fell asleep at one point.  Boring!  But nuclear weaponry sounds so annoying coming from her.  Still, better that Bush’s pronunciation of nu-cu-ler.

I think the audience either passed out or left the debate out of indifference it was so quiet. I’m not into the moderator, Gwen either.  I understand she is a black conservative but hey she’s boring.  Think there’s a common thread here?  Where’s Tina Fey when you need her or for that matter Hillary?

Oh no, Sarah’s pushing that Washington outsider crap.  Please you’re a politician, that’s the very definition of an insider. Opps, did she just make a comment about changing the VP role?  Who does she think she is? Dick Cheney?

Oh no, Joe just had another senior moment, he seems to skip every so often like an old warped record! Ah, he just restarted and is attacking McCain’s maverick credentials! Good for him, I thought we would have to ge the paddles out to resuscitate him.  Then at one point Joe gets verklemptwhen talking about raising his family.  Way to show your softer side Joe!

Final comments:

Sarah is going to fight for the middle class! We are blessed and she is proud to be an American. Yikes, what a cliche fest!

As for Joe…zzzzzzzz

That’s it?  No knock out but are Sarah’s scoccer Mom values enough as we near a financial meltdown?

Round 2: Katie Couric Interview

I sat down sat again with my wife to watch the Sarah Palin interview with Katie Couric. As Sarah mumbled a bizarre answer, my wife turned to me and said “What the hell? What a dope!”

I had to agree, it was another embarrassing train wreck of an interview. The woman can’t put two thoughts together, never mind express them in a coherent fashion. As Sarah was talking or should I say stumbling, I was saying to myself, okay this is how you should respond. Instead she gave a long rambling, incoherent commentary about Alaska, national security and her Russian neighbor. Then I had my epiphany: Sarah’s like Dan Quayle, only not as pretty. Really, it was Dan Quayle and losing one’s mind speech all over again. Doesn’t matter though, neo-cons like Silly little Freak still love Sarah because she has “values”. I just guess that intelligence is not one of those shared values. No wonder why this country is sinking so fast!

I am not saying Sarah is stupid like George Bush stupid, really somebody please do a brain scan on him, but she was clearly coached and if I was Vladimir Putin I would definitely want to invite her to my next poker party. If Bush got all weepy looking into Putin’s eyes you can only imagine what Palin’s response will be to the Russian dictator.

So what of Sarah Palin and her religious beliefs? Well, five to six years ago she was a member of a Pentecostal church, the Assembly of God to be exact. Now these rocket scientists believe in a literal bible, talking in tongues, faith healing and, how can we forget, the ever popular end-of-times. We have had so many end of times I don’t were to begin. This type of inspired lunacy leads to such clear thinking as “it’s God’s will that is being done in Iraq.” Funny, I thought that was the work of a mediocre son looking to clear his daddy’s historical record but, hey, what the hell do I know? I mean we went in there to separate those heathens from the WMD’s right? Eh, okay the weapons weren’t there but we did bring freedom to the Iraqis, right? You know freedom from boredom as the local militia executes the men in your family but hey that’s God’s plan and you can’t argue about the big picture, right?

The good news is that God’s plans are not just relegated to simple matters of war. No way! Did you know that a new pipe line is a task from God? Me, I was thinking Exxon-Mobil but I guess I think way too small. Really, Palin said this. God’s will is to be done developing our natural resources, never mind all we are doing is feeding a nasty oil habit and that the sooner we can move to something alternative the sooner we can tell the idiots in the Middle East what they can do with their oil.  Ask Sarah about Creationism and she’ll reply sure Creationism should be taught in school!  We don’t have a lick of proof that it can’t stand up to rigorous scientific review but hell proof didn’t stop us from invading Iraq.

Round 1: Charlie Gibson Interview

Being independently minded, I sat with my wife and we watched the first interview on ABC first hand before anybody had an opportunity to tell us how to think about the interview. I’m sorry but as I sat there I found it be both embarrassing and uncomfortable to watch. I replayed it several times on the DVR watching their facial expressions and their body language and it reeked of pure train wreck! Charlie looked like a pained, almost constipated school teacher and Sarah Palin resembled the proverbial moose caught in the headlights.

I’m sorry but the look on her face was priceless. It’s amazing how the Ben Stein fundamentalist creationist crowd regurgitates everything that is thrown at it by the cynical Republican conservatives, by the way the very same conservative wing that was all but ready to throw McCain under the bus. Then McCain goes out and drafts the fundamentalist Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential trophy candidate and she say goes around saying “god tasked us to do this and god speaks to us” and the next thing you know McCain is called “McBrilliant” by the vicodin-laden gas bag named Rush Limbaugh.

The Sarah Palin Files:

More: Palin and the Charlie Gibson Interview: She’s No Hillary!

More on Hillary: No Political Catfight with Palin

More on Palin “Governor Palin You’re No Hillary Clinton!”

More on Palin with this story,“Apparently-Bristol-Palin-is-no-Chelsea-Clinton-Either”

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Sarah Palin: Like Dan Quayle, only not as Pretty

I took a hiatus from writing this post to work on my novel but then I got this response from Silly little Freak today remarking about my blog on “Imagine Sarah Palin and Putin Playing Poker Together”. She/he? wrote:

She knew the definition of the word doctrine. She also knew that the bush doctrine isn’t anything official. From where I was sitting, she made Gibson look like an idiot for using the phrase. Now you look like an idiot for posting a story about it. It’s a term that is made up by journalists to try and make someone’s stance look like something official. It can be a “world view”, in most cases it is. You should probably delete this article if you are ever interested in pursuing any sort of journalistic integrity.

I am not a journalist nor do I have any pretensions regarding journalistic integrity, whatever that may be nowadays but I do believe fair is fair, so here is your inane and somewhat tired comment. However, the blog stays. That said, earlier today I sat down sat again with my wife to watch the latest Sarah Palin interview with Katie Couric. As Sarah mumbled a bizarre answer, my wife turned to me and said “What the hell? What a dope!”

I had to agree, it was another embarrassing train wreck of an interview. The woman can’t put two thoughts together, never mind express them in a coherent fashion. As Sarah was talking or should I say stumbling, I was saying to myself, okay this is how you should respond. Instead she gave a long rambling, incoherent commentary about Alaska, national security and her Russian neighbor. Then I had my epiphany: Sarah’s like Dan Quayle, only not as pretty. Really, it was Dan Quayle and losing one’s mind speech all over again. Doesn’t matter though, neo-cons like Silly little Freak still love Sarah because she has “values”. I just guess that intelligence is not one of those shared values. No wonder why this country is sinking so fast!

Meanwhile Lady Macbeth, aka Hillary, stays away from the fray!

Erik John Bertel

The Sarah Palin Files:

More: Palin and the Charlie Gibson Interview: She’s No Hillary!

More on Hillary: No Political Catfight with Palin

More on Palin “Governor Palin You’re No Hillary Clinton!”

More on Palin with this story,“Apparently-Bristol-Palin-is-no-Chelsea-Clinton-Either”

Imagine Sarah Palin and Putin Playing Poker Together

One of the great enjoyments of writing a blog is that you get to interact with people, people you wouldn’t otherwise talk to, never mind notice. Anyway I received another bon mot regarding my comments on the Sarah Palin interview and I found this one very illuminating:

If you knew that “Bush Doctrine” implies more than one policy then Sarah Palin’s reaction to the question (Which is to ask for more clarification) was to be expected and to the point —apparently you don’t so quit sounding so smart D–b-ss!”

Nice try, I know this is the latest conservative spin on Palin’s interview but I’m sorry the look on her face was priceless. It’s amazing how the Ben Stein fundamentalist creationist crowd regurgitates everything that is thrown at it by the cynical Republican conservatives, by the way the very same conservative wing that was all but ready to throw McCain under the bus. Then McCain goes out and drafts the fundamentalist Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential trophy candidate and she say goes around saying “god tasked us to do this and god speaks to us” and the next thing you know McCain is called “McBrilliant” by the vicodin-laden gas bag named Rush Limbaugh.

Anyway, being independently minded, I sat with my wife and we watched the interview on ABC first hand before anybody had an opportunity to tell us how to think about the interview. I’m sorry but as I sat there I found it be both embarrassing and uncomfortable to watch. I replayed it several times on the DVR watching their facial expressions and their body language and it reeked of pure train wreck! Charlie looked like a pained, almost constipated school teacher and Sarah resembled the proverbial moose caught in the headlights.

After the Palin interview reviews were in the conservatives immediately starting sounding like Bill Clinton when Bill went through his bizarre, convoluted explanation of what the word “sex” meant. Frankly, if Sarah knew of an alternative meaning to the “Bush Doctrine” (she didn’t boys and girls), she should have said so forcefully to Charlie instead of looking like a goofy high school kid trying to bluff her way through an essay test. And why didn’t she do that? Because she got caught cramming for her exam, it was so obvious. I am not saying she is stupid like George Bush stupid, really somebody please do a brain scan on him, but she was clearly coached and if I was Vladimir Putin I would definitely want to invite her to my next poker party. If Bush got all weepy looking into Putin’s eyes you can only imagine what Palin’s response will be.

So having seen the interview for myself and being quite capable of thinking for myself, I tell my conservative-fundamentalist friends to go ahead and spin, spin, spin, baby! I saw this lame rebuttal on the internet a day ago before my new friend forwarded it to me. Go ahead and keep regurgitating your tired neo-con world view among yourselves but this crap is not going to work with this independent-minded pundit. You would think after 8 years of Bush people would begin to think for themselves but guess again folks.

Oh, and by the way I’m still leaning toward McCain because I know he is not the right wing ideologue you conservative fundamentalist bozos are so enamored with. Actually I liked the old McCain in 2000 who had no allegiance to the Republican party bosses. Of course, he got swift boated in the Carolina primaries by the present clown in the White House and Bush’s political operatives and sadly, this country has been on downward spiral ever since. Back then, McCain was such a formidable and creditable force for change that even some Democrats were hoping he would switch parties after his defeat in the Republican primaries. This guy in 2008 I barley recognize, especially with all of the lobbyists running his campaign but I have the slim hope if he does get in he is just ornery enough to bite the asses of liberals and conservatives alike. Obama I just don’t have a feel for and frankly I am hesitant to support him but Sarah’s selection as VP now causes me to pause and re-evaluate my thinking.

Why am I concerned? Because McCain is old and Sarah is an all too eager over-achiever who says she is ready but is not. I’m sorry we just had eight years of an intellectually challenged president that said he didn’t read the papers and who went entirely with his gut reaction and just look at the body of work: a five year old war in Iraq with no end in sight and the Muslim fundamentalists threatening to take over both Afghanistan and Pakistan while Bin Laden is still resumed to be alive and well in a cave somewhere. Am I asking too much to have a president that is at least as smart as the bad guys?

So just watch the interview again, Sarah’s facial response to the questioning is very enlightening. She’s as light as a feather, lighter than Obama. That’s great for a Buddhist but that’s lousy for a political leader in these troubled times.

The Sarah Palin Files:

More: Palin and the Charlie Gibson Interview: She’s No Hillary!

More on Hillary: No Political Catfight with Palin

More on Palin “Governor Palin You’re No Hillary Clinton!”

More on Palin with this story,“Apparently-Bristol-Palin-is-no-Chelsea-Clinton-Either”

Sarah Palin: I’m Ready, Then Again Maybe Not

One thing about Sarah she has certainly been a polarizer: you may love her or hate her but you just can’t ignore her.  I had over 700 hits on review of the Gibson-Plain interview the other day and apparently everybody wants to know more about Sarah.  Frankly, I don’t love her or hate her, to me she’s just another mediocrity in the grand political scheme of life.  Furthermore, and despite what her detractors say, she’s is neither a hypocrite or a phony but frankly that’s not exactly a ringing endorsement for somebody with presidential aspirations either.

What has been amusing is to watch the Limbaugh conservatives and the fundamentalist fringe of the Republican party fawn over her and rushing to her defense anytime somebody in the liberal media says anything aobut her.  As a politician all you have to do is utter the word “God” and you got this gang melting in the palm of your hand. They are like groupies around a pop star. I really do believe these people are more accepting of, and definitely more comfortable with, a murderous, lecherous but self-professed Christian than they are with a peaceful, law abiding atheist.  They love Sarah for saying Iraq is a task that is from God and if she spoke in tongues in the past so much the better for this crowd.  The fact that we are also fighting religious extremists who also believe they are on a mission from God or Allah seems to escape this simplistic fundamentalist gang but you know it’s never too late to put together an old-fashioned crusade. Oh, yeah, we kind of did that in Iraq, didn’t we?

During the interview Sarah told Charlie “I’m ready.” However, if you are going to look like the proverbial moose in the headlights because of a tough (?) Charlie Gibson question what the hell are you going to do when planes smash into the twin towers?  Why, you’ll look dumbfounded like George Bush did in front of those pre-school kids, of course.  Alright, that’s a bad example but you get my drift. I have to say that at least Sarah Palin is more articulate than George Bush but that’s not saying much when you realize his most common utterance is “um, duh” (I started counted these anytime the president speaks, it helps me to stay awake).  Nor has Sarah shown that she has done much yet. Okay, Obama hasn’t done much either other than a few good speeches but at least he has two years of campaigning and all of that public scrutiny under his belt.

By the way Hillary Clinton continues to actively campaign for Obama in some key battleground states. Not surprisingly, she has drawn a line against making personal attacks on Palin and the Clinton insiders insist she doesn’t want a political cat fight with Sarah. Sarah, of course, when she is not complaining about Hillary’s whining, is nothing but complimentary about Hillary, all the better to steal Hillary’s voters.  So Hillary will attack the Republicans on policy, but nothing personal about Palin. Hillary did defend Obama who has been under attack his “lipstick on a pig” utterance to describe McCain’s tired Bush policies. In case you were retiring in a cave with Bin Laden this past week, the Republicans have accused him of personally insulting Palin.

“Barack has made this clear,” Hillary said. “It was in no way meant as an affront.”  Hmmm, I don’t know, she is doing just enough campaigning to avoid party criticism but not enough to make much of a difference.  Let’s face it, Hillary’s political clock continues to tick and all she can do is hope for a McCain win in November.

The Sarah Palin Files:

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Palin and the Charlie Gibson Interview: She’s No Hillary!

This was a great exchange between Palin and Gibson that was painful to watch but like a car wreck you just had to keep looking back and sneaking a peek:

GIBSON: Do you agree with the Bush doctrine?

PALIN: In what respect, Charlie? (Palin had a dopey smirk on her face at this point that all but said “that dumb ass had a doctrine?”)

GIBSON: The Bush — well, what do you — what do you interpret it to be? (He was seriously pursing his lips at this juncture.)

PALIN: His world view? (Really, she no clue at this point, she should have studied more. She resembled a moose caught in the car headlights!)

GIBSON: No, the Bush doctrine, enunciated September 2002, before the Iraq war.

PALIN: I believe that what President Bush has attempted to do is rid this world of Islamic extremism, terrorists who are hell bent on destroying our nation. There have been blunders along the way, though. There have been mistakes made. And with new leadership, and that’s the beauty of American elections, of course, and democracy, is with new leadership comes opportunity to do things better. (“Damn, where are my Cliff notes?” she must have been thinking. “I thought this was going to be a fun interview!”)

GIBSON: The Bush doctrine, as I understand it, is that we have the right of anticipatory self-defense, that we have the right to a preemptive strike against any other country that we think is going to attack us. Do you agree with that? {Gibson looked totally exasperated at this point.)

PALIN: Charlie, if there is legitimate and enough intelligence that tells us that a strike is imminent against American people, we have every right to defend our country. In fact, the president has the obligation, the duty to defend. (Oh yeah, that doctrine!)

The body language between the two showed how uncomfortable the duo were during the entire interview. Palin looked like a high school kid who was trying to bluff her way through a tough essay question while Charlie Gibson resembled a pained, constipated teacher waiting for his retirement to begin in Florida. Hillary would have done so much better and yet McCain wants us to believe that Palin is the real deal as his running mate? Frankly, the high school analogy is apropos since Palin resembles that annoying over achieving kid we all knew in school that compensated for their mediocrity with their unbridled enthusiasm. Yuk!

So Palin is a lightweight, no big surprise but unfortunately for America, being a lightweight is not a serious impediment on the road to becoming President as Bush has clearly shown. Her fundamentalist religious supporters will still support her despite her apparent inadequacies because, well…, she is on a task from God. Also, Palin is not the sole vice presidential candidate coming up short in this race because based on Biden’s comments from the other day, he also readily admits to not being a Hillary Clinton.

And by the way, where the hell is Hillary?

Erik John Bertel

The Sarah Palin Files:

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Great News! Flores Girl:The Children God Forgot is now available as a free ebook novel on the iPhone

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Sarah Palin and the Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed Creationists

It’s funny how life comes full circle to anybody who is paying attention. I started out writing this blog hoping to discuss some of the issues writers face trying in their efforts to get published. Frankly, writing can be a lonely and sometimes unrewarding task and book publishers don’t make the task any easier. A process that is inherently tied to communication can cause the individual to drown in their isolation and consequently I felt talking about such a task could at least ameliorate some of the pain. As I worked with my Flores Girl novel I found that the subject matter of my book was getting some unwarranted attention from a number of cranky creationists. Flores Girl: The Children God Forgot is a cautionary tale about the discovery of a prehistoric dwarf tribe by a pair of scientists and, of course, is a complete work of fiction. Well, that wasn’t good enough for some of my creationist detractors because the title contained the word “god” and made some implicit assumptions about mankind’s evolution and that was enough to illicit some seriously cranky email. And you know how the fundamentalists are all about the written word!

So, seeking revenge and some personal amusement, I decided to go off on that craptacular movie called “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” from Ben Stein. After a while, I became less amused with the blog and tired of the pointless arguments with people who read exactly two books in their lives: the bible and the instruction manual to their trailer home. So after failing to find an Expelled bootleg, I boldly pointed out that nobody cared about ID and creationism since there was a presidential election going on and that a crappy Bush-inspired war economy had everybody more worried about foreclosure. Furthermore, the creationist creeps were going to have a tough time choosing between Obama or McCain since neither one was particularly accommodating to their simplistic world bible views.

Boy, was I wrong on that prognostication! Nostradamus I am not! No sooner did I make that stupid forecast McCain goes out and adds some Alaskan Creationist- Secessionist- Pro-Life-Pro-Gun-MILF to his ticket as his VP, all after an incredibly long vetting process that must have transpired during the duration of a single bowel movement. And I should add that I am a McCain supporter!

So what of Sarah Palin and her religious beliefs? Well, five to six years ago she was a member of a Pentecostal church, the Assembly of God to be exact. Now these rocket scientists believe in a literal bible, talking in tongues, faith healing and, how can we forget, the ever popular end-of-times. We have had so many end of times I don’t were to begin. This type of inspired lunacy leads to such clear thinking as “it’s God’s will that is being done in Iraq.” Funny, I thought that was the work of a mediocre son looking to clear his daddy’s historical record but, hey, what the hell do I know? I mean we went in there to separate those heathens from the WMD’s right? Eh, okay the weapons weren’t there but we did bring freedom to the Iraqis, right? You know freedom from boredom as the local militia executes the men in your family but hey that’s God’s plan and you can’t argue about the big picture, right?

The good news is that God’s plans are not just relegated to simple matters of war. No way! Did you know that a new pipe line is a task from God? Me, I was thinking Exxon-Mobil but I guess I think way too small. Really, Palin said this. God’s will is to be done developing our natural resources, never mind all we are doing is feeding a nasty oil habit and that the sooner we can move to something alternative the sooner we can tell the idiots in the Middle East what they can do with their oil.  Ask Sarah about Creationism and she’ll reply sure Creationism should be taught in school!  We don’t have a lick of proof that it can’t stand up to rigorous scientific review but hell proof didn’t stop us from invading Iraq.

That said, Sarah Palin is not stupid. Unlike Obama, she had the good sense to realize that once she became a mainstream Republican she had to leave behind the small town church that inspired a thousand tongues. In fact, she does not does not consider herself Pentecostal anymore but I do wonder if she feels that God can still be accessed? And what about the view that Alaska is the preferred shelter for Christians in the end-of-times? There has been some talk that she is also anti-Israel but really has she ever met a Jew? Ben Stein for example? I mean really, has she?

All I know is the Expelled crowd is really charged up again and we have McCain to thank for this madness. Soon we’ll get all sorts of new home school and ID initiatives coursing through the mediocre halls of Congress. I’m thinking of voting for Obama now just for spite but damn I don’t want my taxes to go up again! What’s a thinking evolutionist to do? And where is Hillary in all this mess? Can’t she remind women not to cast their vote based on their chromosomes but to vote instead on the issues? After all, who do they think they are? Men? Someday, perhaps after the election, I hope to get back to writing about writing rather than about politics and fundamentalists. And to think, if they had just left me alone this all could have been avoided!

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Hillary: No Political Catfight with Palin

It’s official! While on the stump for Obama in Florida, Hillary’s people made it clear there would be no political catfight with Palin. Hillary instead has opted to take the high road and talk about party issues choosing instead to with the old tired argument that McCain is four more years of Bush. He is not. But the scrutiny of Palin does deserve some attention and it has galvanized the nutty religious right folks who have personal talks with God and to talk in tongues. I’m sorry I can’t sugarcoat ignorance but the bigger story is Hillary. Lady Macbeth is biding her time and as her political clock winds down and she is reduced to hoping for a McCain victory. Then she can return to her rightful place as her party’s presidential nominee in 2012 as she reminds her minions “I told you so!” Expect nothing but a lukewarm endorsement for Obama in the weeks ahead by Hillary.

Update: Hillary has done some campaigning for Obama but insists she will not take Palin on! wouldn’t be prudent according to her staff.

The Sarah Palin Files:

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Sarah Palin the Secessionist Creationist and Hillary

Sarah Palin has made an otherwise dull and dry election a bit more fun for myself and a lot of other people. That’s not necessarily good for the country but is has been amusing and just maybe, I said maybe, more people are turning into the election because of her. Unfortunately what they are going to find is not too savory.

Let’s face it, Sarah Palin has a bit of the redneck trailer park streak within her and that has even inspired the fake photo of her holding a rifle while attired in only a flag inspired bikini. Let’s face it, the very real images of her pregnant daughter holding her momma’s baby is just a little too trailer park for me. If Obama’s kids were like that you could only imagine the verbal backlash from the likes of political thugs such as Rush Limbaugh.

The problem is that McCain’s choice of her as his running mate has put me into a bit of a quandary. I was a supporter of the maverick McCain in 2000 and his move to the right, particularly towards the religious creeps, while leaving me queasy could be shrugged off with the understanding he was just being pragmatic about getting his party’s nomination. Voting for Obama was out of the question because of the whole cult of personality that has gathered about him and his fervent followers. The last time we had such a buzz about a candidate was JFK and frankly other than being killed so tragically young, I am at a loss to understand what the hell he did for this country. I mean for Pete’s sake he almost blundered his way into a nuclear war with the USSR.

In general, I prefer mediocrity in my politicians because mediocrity is less likely to inspire the followers to do such heinous things like purges and gulags. One bad charismatic leader can do much more damage to a people than a string of successive mediocrities. Plus, rightly or wrongly, if Obama should be elected he will be challenged immediately by the likes of Al Qaeda. They are far less likely to immediately challenge McCain, after all this is the guy who sings “Bomb Iran” to the old Beach Boys tune. That doesn’t mean they won’t continue to attack the US, they will just bide their time accordingly and concentrate on Afghanistan and Pakistan first.  And if they put Pakistan into play watch out for India and a real escalation in the old dooms-day clock.

So besides the redneck trailer park thing what is it that I dislike about Palin? Well, she’s another religious fundamentalist and a creationist tool to boot (see, I came full circle in my blog after going on a tangent). Haven’t we had enough years of ignorance in the White House? When Bush was asked about evolution he basically said “I dunno”. This type of uninspired stupidity eventually seeps into our domestic and foreign policy as well. Upon hearing of the 9/11 attacks the administration immediately said we have to counter by attacking Iraq. When reminded by their own people that we were attacked by Al Qaeda elements that were based in Afghanistan, the response was “okay, we attack Afghanistan first, then Iraq second”. I can’t tell you how long it took for the nitwits to realize that were both Sunnis and Shia in Iraq.

Now the good news is that McCain is not a religious ideologue and frankly he has no interest in pursuing their interests. And I do believe if he does get elected there is a good chance he will return to his old maverick ways of embracing the middle road and bipartisan support for his agenda. I don’t think Obama can do that because upon his election I feel a lot of the right will just dig their heels in opposition to anything he does. But what if McCain dies? Do I really want Sarah Palin the Secessionist Creationist as my President? Did you even know she was once a member of a Secessionist party?

What about Sarah Palin the Secessionist Creationist and how come the mainstream media is such a pack of wusses when it comes to discussing this issue? For those uninitiated to the conversation, in Alaska there is a third party called the Alaska Independence Party which has advocated and drafted both a call for a revote on statehood and the establishment of Alaska as an independent republic. Damn, all of these years and I thought the civil war had addressed this statehood issue for once and for all but hey I am not a redneck and  I guess, I think a little differently.  My guess is that some Alaskans want full control over the oil and gas in their state and hate abiding to those damn conservationists in the EPA.  Anyway, Sarah’s good old boy husband joined the party during the nineties and she attended their conference in 1994.  It’s unclear if she was ever a member of the party but in 2006 as Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin spoke to their conference and said “Good luck on a successful and inspiring convention,” she said. “Keep up the good work, and God bless you.”

Sarah’s people will argue that Alaska First movement is more about state rights, you know along the lines of the KKK.  As for me and to quote that great political intellect, “I dunno” and recommend you formulate your own opinions by visited their site at akip.org.  Maybe I have a libertarian bent but I sure in hell don’t harbor secessionist attitudes as a solution to our problems in the United States. Frankly, when does the word traitor come into play in regards to a state that is in such close proximity to Russia? Is that only reserved for Obama when he talks to old radical political activists from the sixties? 

On the plus,  Sarah Palin, for the most part, is clearly not a phony.  What you see is what you get.  She’s got a grown son in the military heading to Iraq and you know that family is not into birth control of any type!  And speaking of phonies… where the hell is Hillary Clinton in all of this? Why hasn’t she gone on the attack of Palin and galvinized her supporters to back Obama?  Does Lady Macbeth waits in the wings hoping for a McCain win in November as her political clock continues to wind down?  Funny, Dick Morris, who knows more than a little about the Clintons, feels the same way about her plans for this fall election. (Update: Hillary is scheduled to campaign for Obama in Florida.  Let’s see what she has to say about Palin!)   

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Apparently Bristol Palin is no Chelsea Clinton Either

One of the problems with going with a total unknown as your running mate is that when the public scrutiny begins you never know what the hell is going to fall out of the closet. In this case, Sarah Palin had to announce that her seventeen year old daughter is 5 months pregnant. Of course, everybody is ecstatic in the Palin family and hopefully the young man named as the father, a gent called Levi, feels the same way. I mean dude you just got the VP’s daughter pregnant! What a bummer! Talk about pressure!

This whole Plain choice just gets curiouser and curiouser and we haven’t even started to look at the first dude yet, that is Palin’s husband.

Apparently there is more than one storm brewing in the country today and there will be more in the days ahead!

Erik John Bertel

A final note: Levi Johnston has resurfaced as he and Bristol were fondly greeted by none other than John McCain. A self prescribed redneck hockey player who likes fighting, he also stated in his defunct MySpace page that he has no interest in children. Dude, you are totally screwed!

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