Thoughts on Sarah Palin
When we were in Anchorage, Alaska in June for Mike’s wedding we stayed in Wasilla at the Agate Inn. We were told that Sarah Palin had grew up in a property adjacent to the Inn. At the time I had no opinion whatsoever of her but now that she’s on the national stage I feel like I have to speak up. Needless to say, the opinions we heard in the area were not favorable. Maybe she ruffled a few feathers in town, I don’t know.
First of all, Palin’s sudden rise to be the nominee of Republican Vice-President is a very dubious affair. It’s now clear that McCain had originally chosen Joe Lieberman but when it was calculated that the Republican evangelical base would revolt, the McCain camp had to scramble to find someone who would be acceptable. I watched the Republican convention and I did not see any chemistry between McCain and Palin. They have hardly worked together or even been friends for very long. How are they going to carryout a consistent policy if they get into the white house? That worries me.
Palin is a barracuda on the one-liners. They always get the attention of people. But do we really need another potential President who is only skilled at one-lines? We don’t need four more years of cowboy-policy (Alaska-style) in the white house. Remember Bush’s one liners? “You’re either with us or you’re against us”, or his “Crusade” against terrorism, oh and so many more!
How will Palin’s Pentecostal background influence policy? This is a nutcase religion if there ever was one. Well, just look at the current born again administration policy. Bush can not understand why the Iraqi people are not “grateful” for the freedom he has “granted” them. Well, I say freedom might not be free but it is also not forced! Bush gets his policy directly from his religion and this has had drastic and terrible consequences for our troops and not to mention the many thousands of innocent people of Iraq and all the outcomes of this war. I guess we’ll find out more about Governor Palin’s foreign policy in the coming days when she finally gets to be interviewed by the press.
So how is Palin’s flip-flopping on the “Bridge to nowhere” any different from Kerry’s famous over hyped debacle? The only difference is the Republican Karl Rove style marketing in the latter.
We can not afford to have the antithesis of change (someone who’s been in the senate for 21 years and is part of the system) and someone who has not even finished a full governor’s term come to lead this great nation. We can’t afford this!
Every once in a while I get a glimpse of what a bubble Madison is in. Today was one, when I heard how such a close race this has become.
Obama answers Science Questions
This brought tears of happiness. I can’t wait for a President who actually believes in Science.
Hillary Clinton in Madison Pictures
Here are some pictures from Hillary’s visit to the Monona Terrace in Madison. It was a packed house with around 5000 people on attendance.
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
Hillary’s vs. Obama’s speech
I’d just like to compare and contrast Hillary’s vs. Obama’s speech during their Madison visits. I am paraphrasing here.
Obama – “Join the Peace corp.”
Hillary – “If you put in one year of National service we will give you 10 thousand dollars towards higher education… we will also forgive your debt.“
Obama – “George Bush and Dick Cheney are not on the ticket, but the Bush-Cheney war and the Bush-Cheney tax cuts are on the ticket.”
Hillary - “George Bush had no intention of withdrawing from Iraq. He’s leaving it for the next president to deal with. That’s why if I get into the presidency I will pull together the pentagon, and top National advisers to begin drawing up a plan for withdrawal. Within 60 days I will begin withdrawing troops. Iraqi’s need to start taking responsibility for their own country.”
They both mentioned John McCain’s comment about being in Iraq for the next hundred years.
They both mentioned progressive politics and it coming from Wisconsin.
She mentioned “Green Jobs” and a win-win solution for auto makers and workers. She mentioned Global Warming several times during the speech and forming a pact with other countries that goes beyond Kyoto. She mentioned investment into clean technologies and research. She also mentioned taking subsidies away from the oil companies so as to not to pad their record profits.
My favorite part of Hillary’s speech was when she talked about being a “Leader in the Global community” and bringing real diplomacy back to this country. “The end of Cowboy diplomacy is near.”
I felt like Obama’s stump speech was much more broad and vague. He talked about “Hope” and “Change” a lot. Whereas Hillary’s speech gave many more specifics. Her speech was all over the place and covered more issues.
I know Obama would make a good president but I believe on the issues, Hillary Clinton would make a better one. That is why I am endorsing Clinton.
Hillary Clinton in Madison
I went to Hillary Clinton’s rally at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison Wisconsin and got some really nice pictures and video of almost the whole speech. It was a big crowd of around 5 thousand people. I arrived somewhat early and stood only about 15 feet from the podium. After the speech I got to shake her hand as she went around. I got to talk to her. I said, “Fight for good science”. She then looked at me wide-eyed and pointed and said, “Thank you”. I noticed there were many more women and not as many student supporters there, as compared to the Obama rally. It was a very stirring speech and she said many things that were important to me. The video below is part 1 of 4. The rest can be found on YouTube. I’ll post another blog with pictures soon.
Obama in Madison Pictures
Here are some pictures from Barack’s visit to the Kohl Center in Madison. It was a packed house with 17 thousand people there and many others in the overflow room. I got pretty close to Obama as he was shaking hands, probably only 5 feet. Everyone was “Fired up” and “Ready to go”.
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
Obama in Madison
Barack Obama was in Madison at the Kohl Center tonight and Jean, Rosalind and I went and saw him. We waited in line for quite sometime but it paid off because I got only about 30 feet from the podium. I took some nice pictures of Barack and captured his whole speech on video. I’ll post some pictures in another entry but here is part 2 of 4 of his speech. The rest can be found on YouTube.
Name Dropping
Obama was in town today and a large crowd rallied around him at the Monona Terrace. Although I didn’t go and see him, he did stop in the neighborhood at one of our acquaintance’s house for a party that charged $500 a head. I just have not been caught up with all the Obama fervor yet. I’ve been sort of disillusioned by all his religious rhetoric - maybe I’ll go and see him when he runs again in 2016.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=186×22564
I did go and see Christopher Hitchen’s at the FFRF 30th annual convention this last weekend at the Monona Terrace. Hitchen’s was receiving the “Emperor Has No Clothes” Award and then stuck around for a talk and book signing. The talk started out fairly well enough but descended from there. The low point came when Hitchen’s suggested bombing Iran, etc. This didn’t sit well with the peace loving folks at the convention. I think we sat there stunned but that’s what Hitchen’s likes to do. I did get about half of the talk uploaded to YouTube and surprisingly it’s been a big hit. I’ve had about 1400+ hits on part1 in the last 48 hours! - Part of this is because I found out that Prof. PZ Myers of Pharyngula fame featured my videos on his blog.
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/10/hitchens_at_ffrf.php
Pushing all the right buttons
I’ve watched all the Democrat and Republican Presidential debates on YouTube thus far and I’d have to say that I have not been impressed with any of the front-runners. Every candidate has been lack luster in the extreme. Bill Richardson has been the only candidate that I can’t seem to disagree with on any point. So it was gratifying when I saw this article in Wired Online that really pushes all the right buttons for me:
By Sarah Lai Stirland WIRED Hillary Rodham Clinton took another sharp jab at the Bush administration as she outlined her science policy Thursday. The front-runner in the 2008 Democratic presidential campaign unveiled her agenda for the scientific community at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C. Under her administration, she said, the federal government would return to funding “ethical embryonic stem-cell research,” ban political appointees’ interference with government scientists’ conclusions, elevate a science advisor to report directly to the president, and boost research into space exploration, the earth sciences and alternative energy. Many scientists have criticized President Bush, charging that he’s had political appointees interfere with the conclusions of scientific research, muzzled agency officials who have independent points of view, and not paid enough attention to evidence that human activities are causing global climate change. Clinton used the 50th anniversary of the Sputnik launch to outline a broad science policy that would reverse Bush’s overall approach to federally funded science programs. She also addressed the science community’s increasingly vocal allegations that the Bush administration has politicized scientific research. “For six-and-a-half years under this president, it’s been open season on open inquiry,” Clinton said in a statement… MORE http://www.wired.com/politics/onlinerights/news/2007/10/clinton_science
Hillary Clinton Stands Up for Science, Slams Bush
Barron County Democrats: Doyle, Kohl, Falk draw large, enthusiastic Rice Lake crowd
http://www.barrondemocrats.com/elections/barronrally2006.htm
Just an account of a really big (for up here) rally featuring Gov. Doyle,
Sen. Kohl, Kathleen Falk and many others. The Republicans only drew 80-90
ppl for their rally last month.
Doyle patted Teddy on the head, but I missed out, too busy snapping photos,
taking notes.
Beth