Palin's popularity has as much to do with class as it does with ideology. In this sense, she really is the perfect foil for Barack Obama. Our president represents the meritocratic ideal -- that anyone, from any background, can grow up to attend Columbia and Harvard Law School and become a great American success story. But Sarah Palin represents the democratic ideal -- that anyone can grow up to be a great success story without graduating from Columbia and Harvard.
Right. If Palin had been an Ivy Leaguer, there would have been no snickering whatsoever about her femininity -- ask Hillary Clinton, whom the entire nation has always treated with kid gloves, and about whose daughter no one ever made jokes.
And no one ever dared to distort Barack Obama's religious history -- because he's male and an Ivy Leaguer. Or say unpleasant things about alleged changes in style of dress ("earth tones") by male Ivy Leaguer Al Gore. And Michael Dukakis was a male Ivy Leaguer, so no one ever mocked his looks in, say, a helmet, or spread scurrilous rumors about his wife (say, on the subject of flag burning) that wound up being spread further by his opponent in the presidential race. Nor would any reporter have dared to imagine her in a public forum raped and murdered -- the Dukakises' class status and his Ivy League background exempted them from that sort of nasty talk. Oh, and no one ever dared to distort John Kerry's war record, because he was posh and male and an Ivy Leaguer, too.
Only Palin has to take this kind of guff. Only Palin!
Yes, Texas could. After ditching creationist dentist Don McLeroy as head of the state board of education, Governor Rick Perry is now considering Cynthia Dunbar for the job. Dunbar is the author of a book called One Nation Under God, and despises public education…just the person to put in charge of public education, right?
The discussion in that article is bizarre. Crazy Dunbar is regarded as a likely choice because her selection would make far-right conservatives happy; they don't even want a moderate Republican to be considered for the job. And Dunbar claims that she is just the person to bring together the various factions on the current board!
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It isn't just our DHS that is worried about right-wing extremism and terror attacks. It is the Brits, now, who are warning about the same threat.
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Operation Rescue founder launches 'defeat Sotomayor' roadshow
Randall Terry, founder of the right-wing extremist group Operation Rescue, has announced a twelve-city tour intended to convince senators that "[t]o refuse to filibuster [Sotomayor] is to bow in abject obedience to the Angel of Death." The graphic depicted above is taken from a flier promoting the event, which claims:
"We must stop permitting this hypocrisy, cowardice, and treachery in our midst. Pro-life voters are calling on pro-life Senators to filibuster Sotomayor.
"A Senator cannot say, 'I want to overturn Roe,' and then vote to confirm a Supreme Court Judge that will uphold Roe. A vote to confirm Sotomayor is a vote to uphold Roe.
"Many senators use pro-life rhetoric to seduce us; they get our money, our volunteer labor, and our votes. But once an election is over, they discard us like an embarrassing mistress. . . . Whether they 'have the votes' to sustain a filibuster or not, they need to fight to stop her, for the sake of the babies who will die under her judicial reign."
Sadly, such rhetoric is relatively tame by Terry's extremist standards. Terry refused to condemn the recent killing of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, instead calling him a "mass-murderer" who "did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God." Terry also once went on the radio to pray for a Colorado abortion provider to be executed; two days later, that doctor was found dead.
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He didn't complain because he inherited a surplus, douchebag
Huckabee: Obama needs to stop blaming Bush because Bush didn't complain about inheriting Clinton's economy:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/06/huckabee-obama-bush/
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h/t Dick
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Soaring U.S. unemployment and a shrinking economy drove delinquencies on credit card debt and home equity loans to all-time highs in the first quarter as a record number of cash-strapped consumers fell behind on their bills.
Delinquencies on the value of all card debt soared to a record 6.60 percent from 5.52 percent in the fourth quarter as more cardholders relied on plastic to meet day-to-day expenses, the American Bankers Association said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE56638720090707
Auto parts maker files for bankruptcy.
The Pope calls for reforming the UN and establishing a "true world political authority" with "real teeth" to manage the global economy with God-centered ethics.
God-centered ethics didn't stop the molestation of little boys now did it?
Rules on stem cell research are eased.
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Blood in the streets as China hit by worse violence since Tiananmen
Scattered mobs of Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese roamed the streets and beat passers-by Tuesday as the capital of China's Xinjiang region degenerated into communal violence, prompting the government to impose a curfew in the aftermath of a riot that killed at least 156 people.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/07/china-riots-west-descends_n_226785.html
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