Why We Don't Hate (And May Like?) Sarah Palin

I was wondering why Governor Palin had such high "favorability" ratings.

I was wondering why the very liberal Rachel Maddow seemed almost giddy to report on Governor Palin, and the rest of the MSNBC liberal chorus seemed just as excited.

After the first dust settled, I was wondering why people were still divorcing Governor Palin the person and Governor Palin the policies.

Then I thought - it's that word before her name! "Governor". Specifically, Governor of Alaska, a state many people know about only through Into the Wild and other such stories. Perhaps Sarah Palin isn't so bad as Governor of Alaska. Up to now (barring some real issue with Troopergate), she's been a fairly positive presence in the state as far as the casual observer can tell, and since she's so new, pretty much everyone at least started out as a pretty casual observer.

She took on the "good old boys", came in as a fresh face who seemed genuinely more concerned about doing right by Alaskans then perpetuating the horrifying Alaska politicking, and has probably come through in large part, as we see from her soaring popularity in her home state. Maybe, just maybe, there is room in this world for positive press about Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska.

But.

Sarah Palin, Vice Presidential Nominee is a terrifying thing. So she's anti-choice - what can she do about it, as Governor of Alaska? Probably nothing, and if anything, it would only affect her constituency, who voted her in. I don't worry about an anti-choice Governor of Alaska for the same reason Chuck Hagel is getting play as a possible Cabinet member of the hypothetical Obama administration: abortion isn't an issue for these positions to decide. However, as Vice President (or President) with a Supreme Court up for grabs, this issue goes from nonexistent to huge, or should.

So she's anti-environment. A bit more of an issue than abortion, but she's trying to do well by her constituents by getting them the money from oil exploration. It's not Big Oil - it's Little Oil (or the groundlings who stand to gain) that she claims to favor here. Sure, she could be creative and promote new energies that could also bring in money, but the way she has chosen has potential to help her people more quickly. Fine. But as (Vice) President, she'll have to understand the broader issues, and since she's clearly anti-science, this becomes more of a problem.

The press, and the people on the ground, have to stop evaluating her as the leader of a place so far away in geography and custom that it may as well be another nation, and start judging her as a leader of this land. Hopefully this will sour those giddy faces (and I think that the Great Souring of the media is already starting, I just hope it continues, really).

Governor, you're not in Alaska anymore.

~Meryl

Obama, McCain Reveal Favorite Songs, and I am Snarky About it.

Obama and McCain recently revealed to Blender magazine their favorite songs:

So What IS on their ipods/Victrolas?

Not a lot of surprises there - McCain's list has a few songs that absolutely dare you to dislike them (who hates As Time Goes By), and Obama's is slightly more interesting, with the upsettingly risque "I'm On Fire", for one.

Now, I was inspired to compile a list of Five Chutzpah Songs. As in, a presidential candidate would have to have cojones visible from Alpha Centauri to pick them, but they do have major stature as songs, so they'd be legit picks for people's top ten.

Presenting: My fantasy Presidential Song Pick List!

Goodnight Saigon - Billy Joel
Of course, it would be even ballsier to tout this song in a campaign against McCain...
Billy Joel Runner-up: Captain Jack

American Idiot - Green Day
I think this one speaks for itself - talk about opening yourself up to "elitist" attacks.

Cocaine - Eric Clapton
Despite that it might have been appropriate for George Bush, probably not the best song to choose.

Born in the USA - Bruce Springsteen
And you can't hide behind the "I only listen to the chorus" idea since Reagan already used that excuse.
Bruce Springsteen runner-up: Murder Incorporated

Down and Out in Paradise - John Mellencamp
Wonderful song that reads like a description of campaign speech examples (Jimmy here had this horrible stuff happen to him... vote for me), showing that America is hardly a pure paradise. I actually would have liked to see this song on one of their lists, since it's so powerful a message, and really relevant to the presidential cause.

There are other songs that would take major chutzpah, but none that I can think of are nearly legit enough, unfortunately...

~M.

Spread the Word - with Jarret!

Spread The Word 2

So, enough bickering, and let's realize what is really important - hating on the Republicans!

Breaking the Silence

So, the Progressive Jewish Alliance is showing an exhibit called "Breaking the Silence", which consists of mainly photos (and one 15 minute video) about the actions of Israeli soldiers in the occupied territories of Israel.

I could tell that it was the sort of thing that bleeding hearts were supposed to melt over - oh goodness, occupiers are beating up civilians. I sighed and steeled myself for a tough time. Just another gritty, angry look at what's wrong with the supposed "good" powers of the world.

But I was surprised at how even the exhibit was. The soldiers represented are seen as normal people - they are frightened kids charged, in at atmosphere of fear, with the protection of a state. They are told to be frightened of everyone - guilty until proven innocent. It is no wonder that they are not nice and cuddly with the occupied people. It is not so much that this army is particularly hateful, but that their world is by necessity a police state, where humans do not have basic rights.

I think that the result of this exhibit is just to help us realize that this world is not black and white - what we may get lulled into thinking is "good v. evil" is actually a complex and human conflict, not something easily condensed into a children's story.

For information on where to find this exhibit, go here: Breaking the Silence.

This should make you contemplative, I hope, but not too grossly sensationalized - because that is a mere inversion of the lazy good vs. evil mentality, and not a real development on it.

~Meryl

Spread the Word Week One

So, thus begins Spread the Word, a hopefully weekly segment in which people will essentially blog, but with visual aids. Welcome to the talking points of the future, brought to you by your new Talking Points coordinator!

Here are some links to sites that I used in gathering info - there's good stuff here:
Abuses of Religion on the Campaign Trail

The Survey .

Enjoy the first Spread the Word segment everyone!

~Meryl