McCain is my hero
Sep 3, 2008 Adoption, Feminism/Politics
Didja hear his firm stance on talking about Bristol?
“The media should respect Bristol’s privacy. That’s always been the tradition and practice when it comes to the children of candidates.”
And his campaign reiterates, “The children of candidates do not choose to run for office and be thrust into the spotlight.”
(source)
Yeah, McCain! Good on you! Gee, I wonder what changed in ten years? Oh yeah, he’s talking about candidates! Not politicians currently holding office! Those kids are free game! That’s why McCain thought this joke was so hilarious:
“Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly?
Because her father is Janet Reno.”
(source)
But he’s learned his lesson!! You don’t trash kids! In fact — don’t even talk about them! Leave their personal crises alone! Certainly don’t exploit them by, say, bringing on the father of Bristol’s baby to the convention or anything. That might draw attention to her private matter.
(What do you bet they get her married for a photo op.)
McCain needs the pro-life, evangelical vote and he’s willing to exploit chldren to get it.
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Tags: 2008 election, Adoption, mccain, palin, presidential election, pro-choice
Blogging politics
Sep 2, 2008 Feminism/Politics
My rules (not your rules — my rules):
1. I only write about something for as long as it’s fun/interesting to write about. I reserve the right to stop at any time and ignore certain issues for the sake of my sanity.
2. Generally I don’t debate with folks on the other side of the aisle. It’s one thing to get into a friendly if heated discussion with someone who’s values are mostly mine but it’s quite another to get into it with someone who lives on another planet. It’s not worth the raised blood pressure for either of us so I reserve the right to skip it.
3. On this blog, I’m personally blogging. I’m not trying to share a level-headed, reasonable view of the issues — I’m writing what I think in a way that I wouldn’t if this were an official op-ed column or I was a talking head on television. My standards are lower; I reserve the right to go there.
I’m nervous/excited/terrified/hopeful about this election. My emotions are running pretty high so I’m going to try to not let my blog run away without me. I want Obama to win so bad I can taste it. I’m scared about the supreme court. I’m scared about losing my reproductive rights.
And this is why I think Bristol Palin’s personal life has become a part of the discussion and why I have issue with her mother riding on her back in her effort to get to the white house. It’s one thing for McCain to sell out a teenager; it’s another thing for that teenager’s parents to do it.
Compare the candidates’ positions on sexual education (ganked from Momocrats):
It is simple, Sarah Palin and John Mc Cain support only “abstinence based sex education programs”, while Barack Obama and Joe Biden support “sensible, community-driven education for children because, among other things, he believes it could help protect them from pedophiles. A child’s knowledge of the difference between appropriate and inappropriate touching is crucial to keeping them safe from predators.” Get that folks, age appropriate science based information that keeps kids safe. Materials that have been created by public health educators are used all over the country and have been proven to work. When more than half of the STDs and HIV in this country is contracted by people under the age of 25, comprehensive sex education is a must…. More over, most sex education programs have opt-out options. If a parent is opposed, then they can pull their child from the program.
Conservative defined “morality” (i.e., sexual politics and not morality like I define it, which would be about helping the less fortunate) is a central issue of this election. If a 17-year old Chelsea Clinton showed up pregnant during her mom’s run or her dad’s run, the religious right would have eviscerated her even though she would also be living her parents’ “right to choose” values (as we can argue Bristol is living her parents’ “right to life” values). And I’d have just as many bad feelings about the Clintons if they ran knowing their daughter would be ripped apart by the public. It’s wrong to make Bristol live her private crisis publicly but it’s even more wrong to make her a martyr/hero for the cause.
I think that they chose Sarah Palin in part because of her son Trig and her daughter’s pregnancy. I think this is part of the campaign strategy. They are making them the poster family for anti-choice rhetoric. Look — they have right there in their family two of the pro-choice arguments in Trig’s presence and Bristol’s decision to marry her boyfriend and raise the baby. I’m glad the women both had choices. Contrary to popular belief, the pro-choice mindset isn’t that every “imperfect” pregnancy is a failure but that every woman has a right to consider her options and make the decision that best suits her values and her circumstances. I’m glad Trig is here. I congratulate Bristol and am happy she has her family’s support and that they haven’t shipped her off to the Crittenton home. I am angry that the Republican candidates don’t support my right to make different choices.
But the biggest issue for me is that there’s no way Sarah Palin is prepared to step into office if anything should happen to John McCain. NO WAY. And having her step away from the presidency scares the hell out of me.
I don’t know how I’m going to make it through the next sixty-something days. My head may explode.
Now I’m off to all day meetings with no email breaks! (What?! No email breaks? My head really MAY explode!)
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Tags: 2008 election, mccain, palin, presidential election, reproductive rights
There you go
Sep 1, 2008 Feminism/Politics
The 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant, Palin said on Monday in an announcement intended to knock down rumors by liberal bloggers that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her child.
To reiterate:
1. Sarah Palin showed gross negligence in flying while in early labor with son Trig.
2. Abstinence-only education doesn’t work.
3. Palin also shows poor judgment in running now when it will foist her oldest daughter to the spotlight during what has to be a pretty difficult time of her life. (Hey, Palin’s young — if she’s that ambitious she could’ve waited four to eight years.)
Then there’s this line in the story that made me snort:
The despicable rumors that have been spread by liberal blogs, some even with Barack Obama’s name in them, is a real anchor around the Democratic ticket, pulling them down in the mud in a way that certainly juxtaposes themselves against their ‘campaign of change,’” a senior aide said.
That’s like saying Madonna endorses my blog because I’ve invoked her name in this space. And let’s remember that the left-leaning Huffington Post dismissed this rumor as ugly and unworthy of the campaign.
I think all politicians are nuts for running when it comes to what it does to their families but I sure wouldn’t run on an abstinence-only platform with a 17-year old pregnant and unmarried daughter who is going to bear the brunt of the judgment. (I felt the same way for poor Jamie Lynn Spears.)
Edited to add: Twittering Drublood points out that if this were a liberal woman running on a major ticket, McCain would be all over it saying that it proves that working women raise screwed up kids.
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Tags: 2008 election, mccain, palin, presidential election
My thoughts on the Palin rumors
Sep 1, 2008 Feminism/Politics
Since there’s no proof that Bristol Palin had Trig and her mother covered up, I’m pretty focused on her mother’s incredibly poor decision to fly home while in labor and then drive another hour to get to the hospital. I think that’s a poor choice in a low-risk birth but she knew Trig had issues that might need immediate medical care. And whatever she says about knowing labor, the women I’ve met who’ve had a lot of kids have told me that every labor is different. Brett’s cousin (she of the seven — so far — babies) has had labors that took two days and labors that took two hours. Palin made a dumb decision. I’d say the same thing about any liberal politician foolish enough to do the same.
I’ll quote some of what Tanya – a practicing homebirth midwife here in Columbus who attended two of Kristen’s births and is a rational, thoughtful practitioner — has to say about it:
And while I’m talking about questioning judgement/decision-making ability, let’s talk about the fact that she chose to make a speech and then take the 8 hr. flight back to AK with her amniotic membranes ruptured and leaking fluid…at 8 months…with a baby with a known birth defect. Now, I’m not the alarmist that most OBs around here are about ruptured membranes and infection, mainly because my clients are at home where they’ve developed an immunity to the germs, they’ve been educated to avoid introducing anything into the birth canal and they’ve often chosen to supplement their diets with probiotics, garlic and Vitamin C. Most importantly, their babies are full-term. But I do think about Group B Strep, esp. when I see premature rupture of membranes. I also know that the Center for Disease Control recommends that the test for determining if a mom is colonized with GBS be performed from 35-37 weeks, which I believe is after the time the baby was born.
To me, that’s the most convincing part of the rumors (not the pictures, not even the mono) because that is so damn stupid and selfish that I just can’t believe it of anyone. And this is a pro-life candidate so I can’t get how she’d justify risking Trig’s life just so he could be born in Alaska. (Tanya’s conjectures about why she might have done this — click to her site to see — aren’t mine but I found them interesting.)
Like I said, that’s the most convincing part of it to me.
I also think it’s ridiculous to go back to work three days after the birth — work from home for cryin’ out loud if you have the hankering! I think the same thing of men who have the choice and don’t exercise it. I just don’t get not wanting to settle in and meet the new member of your family. Still, I wouldn’t base a vote on it — those politicians are pretty crazy workaholics. The getting on a plane to fly from Texas to Alaska while in labor with a baby who will be born with disabilities? Yeah, that’s some pretty poor judgment.
Edited to add: This link puts forth the rumor that Bristol is pregnant NOW. And those pics look more convincing. Man, remind me never to run for public office. Who’d want to do that to their kids???
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Tags: 2008 election, mcccain, palin, presidential election, STUPID
Yesterday seeing Obama
Aug 31, 2008 Feminism/Politics, Friends, Parenting, work work work
I didn’t think we’d get in, honestly. I didn’t realize the venue was as big as it was and I figured we’d never get in. See, when they said they were holding the rally at a high school stadium, I was picturing the kind of high school stadium where I went to Friday football games with rickety wooden bleachers and a shaky chainlink fence around the field. Apparently high school has changed a lot since I was a kid because this stadium reportedly holds 20,000 people and is sturdy enough that when thousands of people start stamping their feet on the metal benches the edifice doesn’t even shiver.
Kristen made t-shirts (it was Abby’s idea) so we’d all be matchy-matchy with great big Obama symbols on our chest and red and blue stars (the t-shirts were white, natch). We decided to bring the middle kids (Noah, Lena, Liberty and Molly) because the big kid (Jake) had better things to do and we knew the little ones wouldn’t last.*
Kristen and Abby, being much more organized about these things than I am, decided to treat it like tailgating so they packed up a couple of coolers, a big bag of homemade popcorn, two big jugs of ice water and a bag of candy. Oh and homemade chai (Martha Stewart has nothing on Kristen, which if you read her blog you already know). She also wrote Obama 08 on her van, which got us some thumbs up on the freeway.
We got a good parking spot then took our place in line. The kids huddled up under shade trees with their Nintendo DS games and a good helping of the food. We chatted with some folks we know and haven’t seen forever then started making friends with the rest of the people in line with us. Some people came over and took pics of the kids in their matching t-shirts and there was a lot of that spontaneous friend-making that happens in a crowd before an event only better since there was also that team-spirit feeling.
We waited about six hours. We got there at 12:30 and the speeches started at around 6:30. We were inline for about four hours and then the rest of the time we were in the stadium. That sounds awful, right? Hot sun, crowds, uncomfortable seating but it was great. In some ways it was the best part. (Kristen said it felt like a Dead show only without all the drugs.) We chatted with people and laughed and shared out some of the chai. We signed a petition and chewed on ice cubes and Kristen took a ton of pictures. Once we got in the stadium (Noah set off the metal detector become of some hardware in his pants, but he took it in stride) we ate chik-filet and laughed some more with neighbors. We had good seats — about 13 rows up with a view of the whole filled-up stadium. We watched the lines still stretched back to the parking lot and watched the volunteers scramble with a new game plan because they didn’t expect that many people. We saw one of our new line-friends get picked to be up on the stage (he didn’t even have the yellow ticket you needed to get an insider view — he got handed one at random) and felt like one of our “own” got the nod!
Then a huge — I mean HUGE — praying mantis flew into our rows and everyone jumped and scattered while it flew into one woman’s hair and onto another woman’s arm. It landed for a brief second on Noah’s leg then leapt to the woman in front of him, who calmly brushed it off and it flew away over our heads. The section whooped and clapped and the kids were grinning. (Molly said, “My mom’s gonna be so mad she missed it!” because she and Abby were out getting the chik-filet.)
Another one of Noah’s favorite parts was when the first speech started and the bleachers across the field started chanting, “We can’t hear! We can’t hear!” He thought that was great. And he was entranced by the unfortunate drama of some folks having some issues with the heat down on the field. (The field was meant to be a fairly small crowd, I think, but the overflow was huge and it ended up being a pretty daunting throng, at one point surging forward in a way that looked worrisome from our vantage.) The third time it happened Obama was speaking and he threw his water bottle into the crowd for the woman. The stadium hilariously chorused a crushed “oooh!” worthy of tweens watching Zac Efron toss a sweaty shirt towards a lucky few.
When we saw the motorcade come down the highway way out beyond the stadium we got goosebumps and our section cheered. The guy next to me asked what I thought about Palin and we grinned, all giddy with the possibility that this year we might actually win! Abby told the woman behind us that they had dillybars at the concession stand and Kristen clued someone else in on where the secret bathrooms were. Then we got the kids to stand on their benches and chant for one of the free signs. (Noah was horrified and angry at me for embarrassing him but what can I say? I got Lena and Liberty a sign!) Abby had to train the kids when to hold it up during the speeches and we got them to stamp their feet with the rest of the crowd.
We moms cheered until we were hoarse and I caught the kids smiling more than they’re likely to admit. Obama, even with a low-key speech, was terrific and genuine. I love the cadence and rhythem of his voice. Sherrod Brown, already a huge favorite of mine not least because he was smart enough to marry Connie Schultz, was also a big winner.
Afterwards the kids ran around the field to get the wriggles out and then we stopped and watched Obama’s bus drive by. (He waved at us. We swooned.) Then we got to the car and started tailgating out the back again while we waited for traffic to die. A guy offered to buy a pop off of us but Abby said no, because she hadn’t packed extra but we gave him a drink of water for free. Then it turned out our battery was dead and a lovely woman gave us a jump after Molly saved the day and found the jumper cables.
Noah said the speeches were boring and waiting in the stadium was boring. He said the best part was playing his DS in the shade, the praying mantis and stamping his feet. But then he called his friends and a couple of relatives and bragged about his day.
It was a terrific day. It was terrific to be there and see the crowds (my pictures suck but I’ll try to upload a shot of the full stadium later) and it was inspiring to be waiting with so many like-minded but wonderfully diverse (in experience, in age, in race, in income) people and feel like we were all gunning for the same thing. It was especially great having Noah and his friends there and knowing that this would be a story that would matter to them someday in ways they can’t foresee now.
*The husbands made a plan to trade off care of the little girls all day, working in shifts with big brother Jake doing some of the supervising. Madison had a good time and was very proud of herself for staying “all by herself” never mind the team of people there with her. She did fall out of the treehouse and scraped her side during Jake’s shift and reported that “he said something thoughtful,” which was apparently “Come on down” but said, and I quote again, “softly.” Then he gave them some pop. Pop, if you didn’t know, cures all evils.
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Tags: 2008 election, Biden, Friends, Kristen, Madison, Noah, obama, presidential election, rally
