Another note on Palin

I just received an e-mail from MoveOn.org with information about Sarah Palin, all of which only contributed my previous woes about her inexperience.  Apparently, Palin has only been governor of Alaska for about a year and a half, and before she held that position she served as mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside of Anchorage.  According to the e-mail, McCain had only spoken with Palin once before choosing her as his running mate.  She is an incredibly right-wing conservative...she is against abortion even in cases of rape or incest.  However, personal morals aside, the woman, as stated in my last blog post, is completely unprepared to be our VP.  She seems to have no experience outside of Alaska.

Now, as much as I want to believe those on the same side as me, I have to remain open to the other side.  Obviously MoveOn.org is going to bash Palin, just as they bash everything else about McCain's campaign....that's their job.  So I went to McCain's campaign homepage.  (www.johnmccain.com)  I figured it would be only right and only fair (or only strengthen mine and MoveOn.org's arguments) to do my research on Palin.  I went to the page that was supposed to have info about her, and all I found was her totally unimpressive acceptance speech.  In it, she discusses her career as a "hockey mom", PTA member and eventual life in politics, beginning as city council member, then mayor of her hometown and finally governor of Alaska.  As stated earlier, these are all admirable posts to hold, but where did I miss her credentials for the position of VP?  It makes me wonder again: What the hell was McCain thinking when he choose her??  What could his strategy possibly have been in this decision making process?  Steal Clinton supporters?  With a woman who is as much of a hard line conservative as she is?

My fears that this may have been the motive were only strengthened when I read this statement toward the end of her acceptance speech: 

"It was rightly noted in Denver this week that Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America.  But it turns out the women of America aren't finished yet, and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all."

(www.johnmccain.com/about/governorpalin.htm)

You're right Palin, the women of America aren't finished yet, and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all.  But it's certainly not going to be shattered by a ploy--a simple trick for simple minded Clinton supporters blindly following McCain's dribble without giving it any thought, any consideration.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, Hillary Clinton should be offended, as should all those who support Hillary.  

What is McCain thinking?

After hearing that McCain would possibly choose former Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney, as his running mate, I made a promise to leave the country if they won the election.  Although the running mate he did choose, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, shares many of the same hard line conservative values as Romney, (the source of my for my dislike of both politicians) I must say that my concern has been much alleviated.  McCain must have been out of his mind to choose Palin, and if it hurts his chances at winning in November, then I say good choice!  

Palin, governor of the notoriously politically corrupt state of Alaska, is not only barely known, she is known for her lack of experience and knowledge of foreign policy and security issues and has confessed herself that she doesn't even know what is expected of the VP.  When leaving the country to visit Alaskan troops in Kuwait, Palin had to make sure she applied for a passport in time.  In a time when America is involved in a war that involves any country 'supporting' terrorism, at a time when globalization is not only real but expanding rapidly and the economy is as globally-based as it is, does our country really deserve a VP who doesn't have real global experience, let alone a valid passport?

One glaring suspicion of McCain's running mate choice has nothing to do at all with her qualifications for the position, but rather her gender.  This was the first thought I had when I heard the news that McCain had chosen this (in my opinion) absolutely random governor: Here is another attempt to pull more Clinton supporters.  And sadly, it may just be working.  I guess only the polls will show in the end, but hopefully the majority of Clinton supporting democrats will be smart enough to see that, aside from gender, these women have so little in common their gender may be about the only thing they do have in common.  Hillary Clinton is former First Lady, the wife of a still very powerful and influential former president; she is a New York State Senator; she is a democrat; she has relatively liberal views; she came pretty damn close to becoming the first female president of our country!  Although I'm sure Governor Palin has led an admirable and successful political career thus far,  she holds nowhere near the credentials that Hillary does.  To support Palin because she's a woman is like eating cat food when you can't have steak because, hey, they're both meat right!

The two women's credentials aside, to repeat myself once again, CLINTON TOLD YOU THAT IF YOU SUPPORT HER, YOU SHOULD TURN YOUR SUPPORT TO OBAMA NOW!!  (Can you tell how much it bugs me that people don't get this?) The reason she says and, I think, truly believes this is because, even if she can't be president, she wants to see someone with the closest values to hers take the position instead.  McCain and Palin represent the complete opposite of her values.  So, please, please, if you are a Clinton supporter, be a little smarter than that.  Realize how insulting it is for McCain to try to trick you like this.  

Afghani-Stand-Up-For-Yourself

Today I read an article in the New York Times (8/27/08, 'Taliban gains new foothold in Afghan city", Carlotta Gall) about a Taliban conspired attack on an Afghan prison in Kandahar in June.  A white fuel tanker was parked in front of the prison and minutes later fired on with a rocket-propelled granade by Taliban members.  The man who parked of the tanker, who walked away laughing, was fired on by prison guards.  They missed the assailant and managed to shoot and kill a local shopkeeper's son as the father helplessly looked on from across the street.

The prison's walls were blown apart and, with many prison guards dead, 900 prisoners were able to escape.  The kicker: 350 of these prisoners are Taliban members.   Although the attack is a tragedy in itself, the following actions, or should I say lack thereof, by Afghan police and security guards was the true tragedy.  Or rather the faulty security infrastructure.  For example, the night of the attack there were 10 guards to look after 1,400 prisoners.  Five of those guards were killed in the attack and over half of the inmates escaped. Canadian forces hired and trained the security guards but failed to put any barriers or blast walls near the entrance that may have prevented this sort of explosion.

That's only the beginning.  Police reinforcements only showed up on the scene once the escaped Taliban members were long gone, and police at a nearby checkpoint began running away from their posts when they learned what was happening.  A by-stander mentioned that only 20-30 police could have stopped the escaping Taliban members, but the city police chief and his forces instead stood nearby and approached only after the escapees were long gone.

This may seem like elaborate conspiracy to some, but to the Afghans interviewed in the article, these types of issues are causes of a lack of resources or a lack of leadership.  One government official pointed out that the provincial governor was out of town that night, leaving the city without good leadership.  

Why is it that Afghanistan's police forces are still being bullied by the Taliban?  How can anyone expect the country to successfully govern itself when one of the things it needs most for effective government right now--security forces--runs away from their posts when they are needed there the most?  The United States may have been successful in taking the Taliban out of power, but where is the follow up?  What kind of affect does this have on the psyche of the Afghan population?  To see your police running away from the Taliban, leaving their posts and fleeing...where are you likely to put your loyalties?  And what about those still fighting against the Taliban...what protection is there for them?

How can Afghanistan rebuild itself when there is shoddy security infrastructure (at best) and a blanket of fear wrapped around the police and security forces?  It makes me really wonder what we're doing in Iraq and what similarities we can expect from that country.  But I won't open that can of worms tonight.

Da Me Mas Gasolina...and Less McCain

Just a quick comment on McCain's recent endorsement by Daddy Yankee, the reggaeton pop culture icon who supports McCain because of his positive work for the Hispanic American community.  McCain introduced Daddy Yankee  to a room full of unsuspecting, hormonal teenage high schoolers, resulting in a wave of shrieking and "freaking out" by the female students. Smart move by McCain, both targeting the youth with one of the hottest latin pop stars around today, and targeting the Hispanic community, a community full of Hillary supporters who may now be confused about which way they'll vote in November.  On top of that, this happened on the first day of the DNC.  Now that's just rude.  But pretty smart.

You will be insured or you will pay!

Massachusetts has always been a state that boggled my political mind.  A few years after finally legalizing tatooing in the state, it became the first state to legalize gay marriage.  While these are both positive and progressive things to legalize, they are a perfect reflection of the irony of the state.  It is a constantly blue state which elected a very red, probable running mate of John McCain, Mitt Romney as governor for years.  

Now don't get me wrong, I love Massachusetts.  The five years I spent in Boston were some of the finest I've had.  However, Governor Duval Patrick's health insurance policy, forcing everyone to be insured and fining them for not being insured, is just weird to me.  While the state has made health insurance readily available to pretty much everyone, it still just doesn't seem to make sense, and is another reason why I can't help but ask this great state, "Are you moving forwards, backwards, or just standing still?"  Universal healthcare does not mean, in my opinion (which is what this blog is all about, after all) forcing residents to get health insurance and then fining them on for not having it.  Isn't this a free country?  Isn't it my right to be uninsured if I am stupid, lazy or just unfortunate enough not to be?  How dare the government charge us for our lifestyles, as much as they may not agree with them!

Then again, I may just be bitter since I did break my ankle while being uninsured.

"My mother was born before women had the right to vote and my daughter had the right to vote for her mother for president"

I was motivated to begin this blog after watching Hillary Clinton's speech at the Denver Democratic National Convention.  Much of her speech was dedicated to women, reminding them that although it is Obama and not Clinton as the Democratic nominee for this year's elections, she has still put 18 million cracks in that pesky glass ceiling American women are always attempting to shatter.

Clinton's speech was incredibly moving and inspiring.  For all women watching, it was a reminder that we cannot stop moving forward.  For all democrats watching, it was supposed to be a reminder that we cannot stop moving forward.  The quotes Clinton used from Harriet Tubman about never stopping, not when the dogs are barking, not when the search lights are on, no matter what you continue ahead without looking back, were dead on with Clinton's main point (aside form women's rights, of course).  Speaking to Clinton supporters who say they would rather see McCain in the White House than Obama, Clinton correctly and honorably reminded them that her ideals are not lost in the presidential race just because she is.  Her speech was meant to send out the message that there is someone running in the election who most closely reflects the changes she would have made and that person is Obama.

In other words, Clinton supporters--why would you go to the McCain side?  Were you supporting ideals or names?  What is it exactly that you want from the next president?  By supporting Clinton, you're saying that you support democratic ideals, so why would you support McCain, who is basically a Bush-extension plan for the republicans?

Clinton made this point so clearly and I became hopeful.  I have been somewhat trouble by these issues lately and thought that this speech may turn things around. These hopes were immediately trampled when, minutes after the speech concluded, a woman being interviewed, while sobbing, rambled on for minutes about how upset she was that Clinton will not be the next president and how, although she's not voting for McCain, she does not yet 'feel comfortable' with Obama and, after years of voting and urging friends and family to vote along with her, she now does not know if she will show up to the polls in November.

"DID YOU NOT JUST LISTEN TO CLINTON'S SPEECH?!?!?!?" was all I could think.  "Or could you not hear it over the sound of your crying for the death of Clinton's presidential chances?"  The point that Hillary and I are making is this...however sad you may be that she is not the democratic nominee, move on, and move in the right--or should I say left to avoid severe irony--direction.  If you truly believe in Hillary Clinton's message, stick to your guns!  If you don't get what you wanted the most do you turn around and ask for the complete opposite of it?  Or do you work with the closest thing you have available to it?  

Bottom line is, if Clinton is endorsing Obama and you support Clinton....can you see where this is going?  If anyone has any reasoning against this, I would love to hear it.

Thanks for reading my first official blog!

Introduction of an unemployed, uninsured, highly flatulent gimp

Hello World!  Allow me to introduce myself, Barefoot and Pregnant in the Kitchen.  I suppose an explanation is due as far as my name goes, seeing as how although I may be barefoot at the present moment,but  I am certainly not pregnant and, at the moment, not in the kitchen.  Sitting here, searching for a zany political or otherwise joke on line and reflecting on the motivation to begin this blog, which will be discussed in my next post, I was suddenly bombarded by a generally not-so-welcome memory.  An ex of mine, several years back, "jokingly" commented several times on how a woman's proper place is "...barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen."  I smirked then as much as I do now at the thought of this man-boy telling an incredibly ambitious and idealistic 21 year old college student studying political science and international relations with future plans of saving the world that her proper place in life was barefoot and pregnant, happily preparing a delicious and nutritious meal for her thankless (and oafy) husband.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not really that much of a man-hating, anti-family woe-er of overpopulation.  It may be a possibility sometime in my life that I may actually be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. In fact, if I ever am pregnant, I wouldn't be very surprised to find myself in such a predicament.  It's really just the irony of the time at which this comment was made that makes me smile.  The fact that I was bright eyed about my future...forging ahead to make changes and to become a Somebody...and maybe, somewhere down the line, I would begin a family. But that was the furthest thing from my mind at that point.

So here I am now, a 24 year old college graduate, barefoot and gassy in the spare bedroom of my Aunt's house...unemployed, uninsured and recovering from a broken ankle.  My ambitions have dulled a bit, seeing as how I've been out of school for over a year and still can't get a non-restaurant job, but I am still forging ahead, still not barefoot and pregnant in a kitchen!

Nice to meet you!