Desperately Seeking Qualifications

This morning I received an email from Mark Crispin Miller, the NYU Professor of Media, and Election Protection author/activist, with a letter from Melissa Lammey to MCM, introducing a petition she’d created after watching one of his recent talks on youtube, in which he suggests that Palin was selected to provide an excuse for a surprise election win by Senator McCain, which, in fact, would be the result of election theft.

One way, of course, to blow that Palin excuse is to simply reveal and reveal and reveal all we learn about the Governor, so that her appeal deflates, as well it should, when knowing more about Governor Sarah Palin. Then, as the strange pair, The-Old-Man-Who-Will-Not-Reveal-His-Medical-History-But-Can’t-Stop-Revealing-His-Decreasing-Faculties, and She-Who-Will-Not-Testify-Answer-Read, are in the spotlight, and her supporters can recognize the dangers of such puppets, brought together on this ticket by the RNC Puppetmasters who seek to stay in power, they can choose to stop those who have brought so much lying and destruction over the last eight years.

As I say in my personal info at OpEdNews.com (initially regarding George W. Bush, but applying, as well, to Sarah Palin):

"I continue to write about the hypocrisies I study, believing that what the Bush administration has done goes far beyond partisan disagreement and should be known. I've learned that it isn't that hard to discover the bit of information that puts the news we see into a much greater perspective. I don't need to bash. I don't even need to convince. I simply need to reveal what is going on behind the tap dancing."

So, in agreement with Melissa Lammey’s "Petition to Alaska Governor Palin to Voluntarily Release Her College Grade Point Average!" I went to the website and signed, adding this personal comment:

If Governor Palin is the right person for this extremely important job that requires full-time character, dedication, wisdom, integrity, intelligence, willingness to learn, humility, patience, honor, compassion, and more...

Then her qualifications will be evident not only in the person we see today, but also throughout the history of her work experience and higher education.

So far, we have learned that in her work experience, she has abused her power. She has, from her very first national appearance at the Republican convention, demonstrated her willingness to lie to the people she wants to vote for her and to continue to spread lies that are already publicly exposed, which is an insult to her supporters and a significant indication of her methodology should she be trusted with power.

She has also demonstrated a Mastery of Disguise. She presents herself with a face value of friendliness, feminist, loving mother and wife, middle-class folksiness, and gutsiness, with executive skills and independence.

But a bit of Googling reveals a woman who uses her husband to provide the pressure when she doesn't get what she wants, who manipulates the system in every way possible to make the state pay for her family's life, whose management skills as Mayor caused a threat of a recall unless she brought on a functioning administrator to clean up the problems she'd already caused, who has strong ties to anti-American separationists who proudly claim to be above U.S. law, who has been happy to allow permanent irreparable damage to the land, air and water that are the essential elements that support the lives of her own large family, as well as all the people of Alaska, whose understanding of Christian faith clearly lacks its most significant lessons -- the Golden Rule and the Beatitudes, whose recent speeches appear to aim at getting the least intelligent to act on their deepest, ugliest fears, and finally, who has completely sold out her family and the people of Alaska to the Rove/Cheney Neoconservative and Corporate Imperialists who descovered her, all for the sake of appearing to be in Power.

If this isn't true, we need to see the evidence.

It should be there in her college records. I would think that Governor Palin, if she is the right person for this job, would have lots of documented evidence of the qualities of her character and intelligence, starting with her GPA.

I would think she would be delighted to have an opportunity to show off. That is something we do know about her.

I wholeheartedly support the "Petition to Alaska Governor Palin to Voluntarily Release Her College Grade Point Average!"

I also wholeheartedly thank Melissa Lammey for having the courage and follow-through to start this petition based on what she'd learned from paying attention, and Professor Mark Crispin Miller for his dedication to teaching all who are wanting to know more.

Friday Questions for The Diane Rehm Show, October 10, 2008 - News Roundup

1. If Sarah Palin becomes too much of a liability, who do your panelists think McCain will turn to at the last minute?

2. With Lehmann's CEO testifying before Congress on the executive payoffs, did we learn what Mr. Bush's brother, Jeb Bush, on its Board of Directors, or his cousin, George Herbert Walker, in charge of Global Investment, walked away with?

That Last Question: What McCain Doesn't Know. . .Ooooommmmm

Breathe, Senator John McCain, and discover your inner blankness. . .

When Tom Brokaw reached the culminating moment of the Presidential debate he had, um, well, been the "hired hand" for, he sought some kind of meaning that would make the spectacle appear more, well, worthwhile.

And so, moving away from the campaign's legacy of embarrassing spiritual End-of-Timers, Witch-blockers, and America-Damners, Tom Brokaw looked Eastward.

Well, East U.S.A.  New Hampshire, that is.  Amherst.  AAAAAAAAAAAAmmmmmmhhhhhhhhhh - erst.

And he gave, as he called it, "fair warning."  For it would be "Zen-like".

What?  Involving a Koan, perhaps? -- those succinct stories or questions Zen masters use to facilitate insight, which, according to Wikipedia, may serve to "confound the habit of discursive thought or shock the mind into awareness."

Wow. 

Whoever you are, Peggy of AAAAAAaaammmmmmmmmhhhhhhh-erst, thank you.

Brokaw speaks:  "What don't you know and how will you learn it?"

And so I, too, in that moment, look Eastward, and take three deep breaths.

Floating in the essence of spirit, I imagine John McCain taking his own three deep breaths, and from his own inner flotation, where he is suddenly centered and whole, brief though that space may be, a sudden truth is born from the emptiness.  He opens his mouth, and the uncensored words spring forth that reveal that which he does not know:

"Who Sarah Palin has selected to be her Vice President.  And I suppose, to find out, I'll have to ask Dick Cheney."

The colorful auras vibrating around McCain fall away as the audience's gasp sucks the atmosphere out of the room.

The badgering voices in his head rise up again, yelling angrily, and he sputters a correction quickly:

"I mean Steve Schmidt!"

Ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

INSIGHT IS ATTAINED.

Palin: My, Wasn't She a Fast Talker

A theory on the Handler's solution. . .

* * * * * * *

With Sarah Palin's other recent appearances in mind, my instant reaction to her first response to a question at the Vice Presidential Debate was:

They've put her on SPEED!

Ritalin, that is. Adderall. Methylphenidate.

(Okay now, for those who remember the theme song from The Beverly Hillbillies, reread from "Ritalin" on like "Oil, that is. Black Gold. Texas Tea." Actually, given her drive to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, either lyrics work for Sarah Palin. But I digress...)

Come on. Think about it. Have you ever seen her zoom through her talking points like that? Without notes, without a teleprompter, and without enough pauses for wires to be effective?

And let's review: McCain campaign advisor Steve Schmidt is from the Bush administration (he worked closely with both Rove and Cheney),Bush has shown all the signs of a man on antidepressants, with occasional variations in his twitches appearing to indicate shifts in his medication strengths or combinations. and Mr.

Her handlers must have been desperate -- so needing to yell at her and so aware of what it would mean if she bolted and told the world -- and she just might do that if they pushed too hard...

She certainly had the will and ambition to do the lying, twisting, and sarcastic attacks they needed her to do...

But it was those gaping pauses when her mind hadn't yet found the way to bulldoze the question and move on to her talking points that was the problem.

The media can easily forgive blabbering and illogic and untruths and gibberish. Both the audience and the professionals are used to politicians not making sense.

Given the credibility gap when politicians have to say what is necessary to sell themselves to a majority of voters (to say nothing of the lies everyone knows they must tell to stay true to the deals they've made with big-money donors) . . .

And given the way that the corporate mainstream media, so in debt to the Bush administration, has facilitated the dumbing down of America by conditioning its audience to respond to the quick-and-shiny, and shift focus willingly-- on command--when faced with nuance, complications, hard truths, and deeper examining. . .

And given the hordes of political pundits, some more bought than others: some interested in discovering what may be behind the words that are said and what that will actually look like in that politician's policies, while others are clearly there to emphasize partisan talking points regardless of what was said, there to claim victory above and beyond logic. . .

THE MAJORITY OF THE AUDIENCE IS BARELY LISTENING TO THE WORDS.

But they do notice gaps. Fumbling for words. Big pauses. Uhhhhhhhhhh.

And not having an answer. Any answer, dammit! Gobbledygook, for God's sake! Something!!!

Name ANY newspaper or magazine! Can't you think of one dang title? Time? The Anchorage Daily News? Hell, what about Sports Afield! The Oil & Gas Journal!!!!

Sorry boss, but when asked by Katie Couric what newspapers and magazines she used to read "to stay informed and to understand the world", she could not name one.

"I've read most of them. . ." Specifically? "Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me all these years." Name a few? "I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news."

Nope, can't let that happen again, at least not in the debate. Gotta spew out paragraphs full of bla-bla and smile pretty all the while, and never--NO NOT EVER--get caught looking like you can't come up with something--SOMETHING to regurgitate oops--I mean "say".

"Quick!" barked the Handler to his Igor. "Call PHARMA (actually PhRMA, but that's hard to say) and see what'll do the job best! Noooowwwwww!"

As Igor pulled out his Blackberry, the Handler pulled his own bottle of samples out of his pocket and popped two--no, make that three. He was glad there was someone he could still get at--and something he could swallow that would hold him back from yelling at (taking a deep breath) that woman.

Besides, he thought, the speed's right up her alley. Keeps her bikini-worthy. Keeps the men attracted. And Cindy's just gonna have to get used to it.

Corrective Bible Study for Palin

Though Sarah Palin would like us to believe that her Christianity is evidence of her being an especially fine human being, a listener who emailed Friday's Diane Rehm Show, Hour 1 (26 minutes in on the podcast), cut through the pollution-filled PR on Palin to deliver a shuddering message:

"As a committed Christian, I was deeply offended by Sarah Palin and the Republican delegates mocking and belittling community organizers the other night... Jesus was a community organizer. Pontius Pilate was a governor."

Based on recent reports regarding her support of polluters in Alaska and incompetence as a Mayor (here and here), it looks Ms. Palin may also need a review of the Ten Commandments.

Of course, as a "Christian", Ms. Palin could simplify her study by simply reviewing the way Jesus Christ condensed the commandments,

Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Ah, yes, the Golden Rule. That would solve a lot of the problem. . .

Meanwhile, readers may consider weighing in on Ms. Palin's rude and misleading comments - especially those which ignored Obama's decision to go beyond organizing and get the education needed to legally advocate as a civil rights attorney, teach constitutional law for 12 years, and eventually work as a lawmaker, with a total of 11 years experience between the Illinois and U.S. Senate –

By making a donation to the nonprofit "community organizer" of your choice.

Given the well documented concerns about election theft, one of the many groups that work tirelessly to set us back on track as a democracy, where there is a desire that our votes be counted, might be a good place to start.

Frenzy over Rumor Helps Palin Avoid the Baby Story that Deserves Spotlight

To those who ran with the rumor that Trig Palin was not Sarah’s child, but her daughter’s – without any more solid evidence than a couple of photos where Bristol’s tummy isn’t perfectly flat:

You provided Sarah and her Rovian consultants the escape route they so desperately needed.

Now, we have the media trumpeting Obama’s response to the pregnant Bristol story -

I have said before and I will repeat again: I think people’s families are off limits. And people’s children are especially off limits. This shouldn’t be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Governor Palin’s performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president. And so I would strongly urge people to back off of these kinds of stories.

To Obama’s credit, that would be a fair response – IF that was actually the basis of the concerns being raised. But it’s not!!
Today, two of NPR’s top programs, The Diane Rehm Show, and Talk of the Nation talked about Governor Palin, and while the pregnancy issue was addressed at length, they didn’t get anywhere near the original, very strange story. The most daring caller merely questioned the apparent effectiveness of the Governor’s policy of abstinence education over birth control.

They’ve gotten completely off track of where this entire thread began – April 17th, 2008, in Texas, where the water was flowing.

So, it is our responsibility, as citizen journalists, bloggers, commentors, and political junkies – to push forward the real story - which is a big enough story WITHOUT having to resort to Mother-swapping rumors.

The voters need to know about – and publicly discuss – what is the significance of what happened on the day before her son, Trig, was born:

1. Sarah Palin had her water break while she was in Texas on the morning of April 17th, but she chose to continue to participate in an "energy forum", including giving her own 30 minute speech that afternoon. Then, despite the danger of infection and imminent labor, she chose to go to the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport and board an Alaskan Airlines plane for a very long flight back to Anchorage – at least 9 hours, according to the airline’s current schedule – and even then, upon landing, chose to drive to a hospital another 43 miles from the airport. Why did she make those choices? Would she have been this careless if the baby were not already known to have Down Syndrome? What kind of prioritizing is this?

2. This under-reported, and vaguely defined "energy forum" on April 17th, that Sarah Palin was dedicated to, was a gathering that consisted of nine Republican governors and six energy industry CEO’s, hosted by Texas Governor Rick Perry, according to The Austin American Statesman. Why was the event not on the Governor’s website? What was the theme of Ms. Palin’s "keynote" speech there. Will it turn out that Ms Palin was chosen for McCain because she is already selling out her state and its people to industry?

So, let us choose to take Sarah Palin at her word – about that day, and about that pregnancy. And let us then ask the pertinent questions about the strange decisions she made that day, and why.That, too, would be a very fair response – which has nothing at all to do with the candidate’s children or family, as Barack wishes.

It does have a lot to do with this politician who is put before us -- her wisdom, leadership, and, most important, the company she keeps.

Sarah Palin and the Closed Door Energy Forum where Her Water Broke

It did not take long for people to discover the strange circumstances surrounding the birth of Sarah Palin’s youngest child, Trig, widely reported to be a Down Syndrome baby.

Ms. Palin only revealed that she was pregnant one month before his birth, when she was in her 7th month, and in the midst of a very busy schedule, with recent trips to Washington, DC and Los Angeles. She bragged about going back to work as a Mayor the day after giving birth to her daughter, Piper, and, sure enough, in April, when Trig was born, she was back in her office in three days (it might have been earlier, but this birth was on a Friday, so there was a weekend following).

That is enough to make many of us squirm, but it gets much stranger when we learn that Governor Palin’s water broke while she was attending an energy forum in Texas on Thursday, April 17th, but that she stayed for the event, made her own 30 minute speech, and then, rather than going to a hospital, she chose to board an Alaska Airlines plane for what must have been at least a 9 hour flight, according to their current schedule, then drove another 43 miles to give birth at the Mat Su Regional Medical Center in Palmer, Alaska.

Her choice to not respond to her water breaking has led to an internet uproar at www.BuzzFlash.com and elsewhere, especially regarding her priorities, her decisions, her parenting, and her character. . .
But to me, they’re missing the point.

I return to the question of why Sarah Palin was chosen by McCain, especially when he hadn’t even spent any time with her?

The reasons can't be good. And, in truth, the reasons aren't just his. At one time in his life, McCain may have been his own man, but that time has passed. He is in the hands of Rove and Cheney's people, or he wouldn't be where he is today. They may not be thrilled with the candidate they got, but given the other choices of a flipflopping Mormon, an evangelist, or a lazy actor, McCain appeared to be the most electable. So they picked up from his failing campaign, dusted him off, and assigned their people to him as consultants. They settled, and so did he, and he is cooperating.

So, now we have a vice presidential candidate who came out of nowhere.

No, not nowhere -- Alaska. Where Ted Stevens is old and busted - so the oil companies can't use him any more.

But Sarah Palin? Oh my. Known for that odd combination of being both a Christian and a bully, and for her support of giving up both the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and polar bears, she fits the Bush/Cheney/McCain transition perfectly.
In this light, I ask,

"What was she doing in Texas that was so important that she couldn’t leave, and that she didn’t want to highlight by giving birth in Texas?"

Reported to be a "forum on energy with Texas Gov. Rick Perry and executives from four other states", it took a little digging to find that this forum was a closed-door affair hosting a select group of nine Republican governors and such notable corporate energy VIPS (and polluters) as Greg Boyce, chairman and CEO of the Peabody Energy Corp.; John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil; Robert A. Malone, chairman and president, BP America; Anthony Orlando, president and CEO, Covanta Energy Corp.; and John Somerhalder II, chairman and CEO, AGL Resources.

It is important, too, to understand that the host, Governor Rick Perry, is the governor neatly trained to take Bush's spot in the Texas Governor's mansion. Before that, Perry defeated Jim Hightower for Texas Agricultural Commissioner with the help of Karl Rove and his scurilous tactics.

Perry is also the father of Dick Cheney's son-in-law, the lawyer Phillip Perry, who has bounced back and forth for the last several years between lobbying for Lockheed Martin and working for the White House. His wife, Elizabeth Cheney, though a mother of five herself, is a hawk for attacking Iran and has worked in the Bush Cheney State Department.

So, while the pregnancy story does bring up questions about Sarah Palin's character and priorities, I still think the far more relevant information for voters is what was going on behind closed doors in Texas that day?

This is what we deserve to know.