Sorry people, I can’t resist

Quick Terry … what’s the top story over at People magazine?

Wow, you really do get the crazies out when you mention presidential (or vice-presidential) candidates on this blog. Then again, here I am.

I don’t really care to know more about this “issue” than I already do, I can’t believe this makes news. All I can think of is that the media was bored and disappointed that Gustav left New Orleans intact.

Choosing a running mate whose daughter is pregnant out of wedlock does not reflect poorly on McCain’s selection process if he’s looking for a qualified VP candidate; it just doesn’t. I suspect that his camp was unaware of the pregnancy when they made the decision, but it shouldn’t reflect poorly on them that they weren’t opening mail at the Palin house to see if any Gynecologists’ bills were showing up. If this is the sort of thing that makes or breaks a presidential campaign then America, the democratic process, and the planet earth are irreparably broken. Someone please send a comet to destroy us all.

If a teenager is taught to use contraceptives and then doesn’t do so, it doesn’t mean that mainstream sex ed doesn’t work. Hell, if someone gets pregnant while using a condom, which DOES happen sometimes, it isn’t (and shouldn’t be) dragged out as the reason to get rid of whatever sex education program they’re using in schools these days.

Finally, moral standards are something to which people strive. The fact that we don’t fully live up to them is a much-needed source of humility, and an opportunity for self-correction. If you have a moral standard to which you have no trouble adhering, I might suggest that you have set very low standards for yourself.

Thank you for a well-put post, Tyler. Now please never mention this topic again

Odograph, I will cede you that point begrudgingly. Whether or not it makes a good president, we do highly value media savvy in our candidates.

I would guess that the media storm, and its inciting incident, were unpredicted. Morality aside, I would guess that any campaign would want to avoid picking up that kind of hot potato if it could. They could theoretically have been predicted but acceptable, and McCain’s people were willing to take the risk that the boost they’d get from having Palin onboard outweighed her family baggage, but that’s one heck of a gamble.

Either way, it works out badly for Palin’s daughter (if McCain did take a gamble with Palin, it was almost certainly at her daughter’s expense). The toll that running for president or VP takes on a family has got to be incredible, even when nothing like this comes up.

Cause I’m certain that if Palin was on the Dem ticket this entire debate would be framed exactly the same way.

There are ideologues in all parties, across the entire spectrum of political beliefs, and snarky comments don’t change that.

If you’re having a different experience, then you’re hanging out with a non-diverse group of ideologues.

http://www.informationarbitrage.com/2008/09/a-country-divid.html

We now have a person running for office, who is potentially a heartbeat away from becoming President of the United States, who could potentially send us straight back to medieval times. She stated in a televised debate that she supports the teaching of creationism in schools; she does not believe global warming is due to man-made causes; she opposes state health benefits for same-sex couples; and she is not only firmly pro-life, but opposes abortions for women pregnant either due to rape or incest. Anti-separation of Church and State (that concept, first put forth by Thomas Jefferson, is immortalized in the First Amendment of U.S. Constitution otherwise known as the Establishment Clause); anti-science; anti-equality. These are not the characteristics of someone who can bring people together, but someone who can push them apart. Regardless of one’s political views, I find it hard to believe the the majority of this country support the candidacy of a person with such narrow-minded, backward-looking beliefs. Divisiveness is not what we need at this critical point in the evolution of our society and of the world, especially when challenges to the status quo haven’t been higher in generations. Do you think China, India and Russia are moving light-years backwards in their science programs to teach creationism? Do you really think we can continue to be competitive on an increasingly challenging global stage when science is something you learn from the Bible, and not from scholarly texts in biology, anthropology, chemistry and physics? I shudder to think what will happen to our knowledge economy in such a scenario.

I have been reading a fascinating book about Intel’s Andy Grove by Richard Tedlow. It traces Mr. Grove’s childhood and eventual escape from Hungary in 1956, and the remarkable life he has built since his move to the U.S. Mr. Grove is a man of science, of determination, of massive intellect and is a lifelong learner. He has used his powers to fight both prostate cancer and Parkinson’s disease, and was employee #3 and the architect of growth at arguably the most important company to bring us into the PC generation and out towards the Internet generation. I wonder what Governor Palin would think of Mr. Grove’s life story and the role of science in his personal and professional development? It is hard to imagine this self-proclaimed “hockey mom” being impressed. Rest assured, I am.

When I see the U.S. through my prism – being whatever you want to be if you work hard enough, inclusive, edgy, aggressive about ensuing our personal freedoms, innovative, caring, focused and fierce under duress, willing to change but without compromising the spirit of our Constitution – it saddens me to see where we find ourselves. Eight years of a fractious, troubled Administration, with the possibility of not more of the same, but perhaps much, much worse. It angers and scares me that Mr. McCain would choose someone like Governor Palin as his running mate. We are, without question, the laughing-stock of the world, which will come even more into focus if Senator McCain and Governor Palin actually win. It is almost as if the election has become merely a game to him. Let me assure you, Senator McCain, this is no game. And if I am right and there are millions of others who are just as angered and as scared as I am by your actions, this is not a game you’ll be able to pursue after November 4th.

i) without families like this our nation would have no chance of affording the social welfare programs proposed by the Democratic Party.

So if we vote Republican we won’t need families like this anymore?

Oh my gosh, everyone. When Bush spoke tonight, there were GREEK COLUMNS to his sides. What does he think, he’s the Messiah or something?

IGNORE: just wondering if this will turn off the italics

one two three. Off now?

I think it is not irrelevant. Palin is against sex education with the exception of abstinence only. This approach has been an absolute failure with respect to her own family. I can’t believe that this is barely being mentioned, as Palin’s “family values” ideas/policies are central to her political philosophy and one of the main reasons (aside from her gender/perkiness) that she was added to the ticket.

Imagine if Chelsea Clinton had been a lesbian like Dick Cheney’s daughter, or if one of the Obama’s daughters was under 18 and pregnant? The Republicans wouldn’t have stopped talking about the moral decay in the Democrats. Heck, they turned Kerrey and Max Cleeland into cowards while Cheney deferred numerous times and Bush was AWOL, taking catnaps, etc.

This blog has interesting and insightful economic and social analysis, but the political posts often sound like they taking straight from Republican Party talking points.