Who shot Gabrielle Giffords?

As you may have sadly heard, Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head today.

A gunman opened fire at a political event in Arizona; one of her aides was killed, along with five others, and a total of twelve others were injured.

It's an unspeakable tragedy, and my heart goes out to all those impacted by this cowardly attack. However, even though mere hours have passed, people are already laying blame.

At Sarah Palin.

Yes, even though no information has been released about the killer, the left wing are already laying blame at Palin and other right-wing conservatives.

They point out that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was one of the Democratic incumbents featured on Palin's famous 'crosshair' map during the recent elections - she extolled conservative voters to 'target' those representatives to be ousted. They're making the assumption that the attack was committed by one of her supporters taking that suggestion literally.


"If it wasn't Tea Party," one pundit claims, "it won't be from lack of trying on Sarah Palin's part."

"Rep. Gabrielle Giffords shooting was politically motivated," another Twitterer writes. "It must be noted she was on Palin's target map."

"Gun imagery and electoral politics don't mix that well," somebody else wrote. "Who knew that telling people to "reload", "target" and "knock off" politicians might cause them to reload, target and knock off politicians?"

But all of this rhetoric is based on an assumption - that the gunman who shot up Gifford's assembly was a disgruntled, white, right-wing conservative. At this point in time (4pm, Saturday) no information has been released about the shooter apart from the fact that he's around 20 years old (they didn't even mention his race.)

This is significant because Arizona is not just home to gun-toting rednecks yelling abuse at town hall meetings - it's also the front line in a war against Mexican drug cartels, who have often taken violence into the heart of Arizona (just recently, a farmer was murdered in his home by a
Mexican drug gang.)

Just recently, Arizona caused outrage when it stepped up policing of the border, infringing on the drug cartel's impunity in crossing from American to Mexican territory, and also targeted illegal immigrants living in the state itself. Notably, Gabrielle Giffords (a former Republican) was in support of this controversial border control, even though other Democrats compared it to that old perennial, 'a Nazi state.'

So let's not pretend right-wing conservatives - even the ones who stroll around Arizona with 9mms strapped to their thighs - are the only suspects in Rep. Gifford's shooting. It's just as likely - in fact considerably more so - that the gunman was motivated by the immigration situation, or had 'firing orders' [literally - Editorial Bear] from Cartel paymasters south of the border.

In fact, there are many possible explanation for why Rep. Giffords was shot [Including a right-wing nut being responsible - Editorial Bear] but at this point, it's far too soon to leap to any conclusions.

Just look at what happened a few years ago, in Washington D.C., when a sniper was driving around shooting random citizens. The media produced a profile of the suspected killer - a disgruntled white male with a grudge against society. It was only when the sniper (and his accomplice) were caught that we discovered how wrong this 'politically correct' profile had been. The killer was really an African-American called 'Muhammad,' who'd converted to Islam.

I'm not saying Gifford wasn't shot by a disgruntled, white, tea party activist - I'm just saying let's not automatically make that assumption, because we'll look bloody stupid (again) if we're proved wrong.

I'm also saying that disliking Sarah Palin is one thing - but accusing her of murder by proxy is hyperbole of the highest order.

Sarah Palin's Health Care Stupidity

"The Democratic legislative proposals will lead to health care rationing," former Alaska governor Sarah Palin angrily roared on Wednesday night.

"The sick, the elderly and the disabled would suffer the most under such rationing; and that under such a system, these ‘unproductive’ members of society could face the prospect of government bureaucrats determining whether they deserve health care or not."

Of course, Sarah Palin's legions of adoring right-wing fans screeched in approval at her outburst - but does their condemnation of Obama's health care proposals actually hold up to scrutiny?

The simple answer is: No.

Because as opposed to government-run health care as I am, Sarah Palin's accusations could equally be leveled at the existing health care system - the one she's fighting to preserve.

"Unproductive’ members of society could face the prospect of government bureaucrats determining whether they deserve health care or not," Palin screams. But surely a private system, run by insurance companies that can arbitrarily decide that a sick person is 'uninsurable', rations health care to those who need it most in exactly the same way.

"The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society,’ whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil," Palin wrote last Friday.

But surely a privately-run system, in which people who can't afford it simply don't get access to private medical care, is equally 'evil.'

Sarah Palin's Down syndrome baby, Trig, has access to wonderful medical care - because his mother is rich. Thousands of other Down syndrome babies, born to parents who can't afford private medical insurance, are looked after by the same Government-run, 'free' health care system that Sarah Palin is complaining about. Their health coverage is 'rationed.'

My whole problem with the Republican approach to attacking health care reform is that it's all built on lies and misinformation.

President Obama's not suggesting 'socialized' health care - yet that's what these idiots are waving on their placards outside the Town Hall meetings.

While yes, President Obama is proposing that the government cover the cost of treating America's millions of uninsured - but how is that different than the insured covering the cost of treating them? Through vastly bloated premiums - as is the case now.

Remember, there already is universal health care in America. The Republicans are trying to ignore that fact, while Obama's merely trying to pay for it.

The unfortunate thing is that sound-bites and angry rants are the fuel-stuff of the Conservative movement. The more pundits like Palin get them fired up with horror stories of 'death panels' and 'socialized medicine', the more they'll oppose Obama's health care reforms without understanding what they are.

The Republicans have always been good at appealing to the lowest common denominator and working up a crowd to fever pitch. It's just unfortunate that, in this instance, they're doing it merely to oppose anything Obama proposes, rather than to actually benefit themselves, their loved ones or anybody who relies on America's health care system.

Shatner interprets Sarah Palin's goodbye speech.

If the departure of Sarah Palin from the Alaska Governor's office left you scratching your head - her strange, disjointed farewell speech probably didn't clarify anything!

Well, fortunately North America's greatest actor, William Shatner, is here to clarify exactly what Palin was trying to achieve - by reciting her speech, verbatim, as beatnik poetry.

The Five Fatal Mistakes of American Conservatism

Rush Limbaugh by Ian Marsden

Is this the end of American Conservatism?

At a time when American conservatives should be regrouping and re-recruiting, they've circled their wagons; embracing a siege mentality that suggests their period of political relevancy is at an end.

What contributed to the collapse of this once-powerful political movement?

The Five Fatal Mistakes of American Conservatism:

Country Club Conservatism: During the movement's birth, in the lead up to the 1980 Presidential Election, conservatism triumphed because of its accessibility. Evangelical leaders like Robert Grant and Jerry Falwell gave America's disenfranchised conservatives a unity of purpose - allowing conservatives the opportunity to overlook their differences and work together to achieve a common goal.

Today, the opposite situation exists. The title of 'conservative' is no longer one that voters can adopt for themselves - instead of a unity of purpose, there's a doctrine of dogma; and failure to live up to the standards set by so-called 'leaders' like Rush Limbaugh leave many more moderate conservatives out in the cold.

As long as conservatives pick and choose their supporters, like members of a country club committee, their ranks will dwindle.

Failure to Evolve: Many conservatives don't believe in Evolution, which explains why their movement is still stuck in the seventies.

The success of the 'moral majority' during the election of Ronald Reagan came down to conservative Christians uniting together to support timely, relevant and effective political positions. Times have changed dramatically since then - but, in most cases, those political positions haven't.

Unless the conservative movement is willing to address the issues of our time - environmentalism, war and economic uncertainty - they will continue to represent an era and an outlook whose time has passed.

A Dying Breed: It's a documented fact that each new generation is progressively more liberal than the last. Nowhere is this more apparent than America, where the grandchildren of segregationists just elected the nation's first African American president.

However, in its failure to address the changing beliefs and values of young Americans, the conservative movement excludes those who could offer conservatism its future.

The Democrats have successfully courted the under-30 vote in every presidential election for the past fifteen years. This trend shows no sign of changing. Until the aging core demographic of the conservative movement grows up and accepts that young Americans aren't so militant about issues like homosexuality and explicit sex education, they will always be marketing an agenda that alienates the very people it's essential they win over.

The Lowest Common Denominator: Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin may have bemoaned the 'liberal elite media,' but in the arena of Talk Radio, conservatism is king. Political pundits like Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin rule the airwaves with their angry rants about the state of the country.

But it's that anger which is so damaging to the conservative movement. While it does resonate strongly with the conservative core, it was proven in the last election that America is looking for a message of hope and change, not anger and frustration.

As long as the public face of conservatism continues to be bitter, angry little men like Levin and Limbaugh, that's going to be the only demographic it appeals to.

Eating Themselves Alive: The final mistake of the conservative movement is the one that will hasten their ignominious demise - a self-destructive urge to tear their party asunder from the inside out.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in the public arena - where the GOP leader, Michael Steele, was recently eviscerated by Rush Limbaugh for 'daring' to imply that abortion is a woman's choice, not merely cold-blood fetal murder. When we see the de jure head of the Republican party skewered by the de facto head of the conservative movement, we witness a party and a movement that's in no position to govern itself - let alone the country.

John Stewart: "F*ck All Y'All!"

“We believe that the best of America is not all in Washington, D.C. or New York City.”

Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin explained this belief of hers during a campaign rally in Northern Carolina last week.

"We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit… …what I call the real America… …hard working very patriotic, pro-American areas of this great nation.”

For the crowd in NC, that was the cue for uproarious applause. Not so further north, where New York city resident and host of the satirical Daily Show responded with two words for Sarah Palin (on behalf of all of New York City.)

“Fuck you!”

New Yorkers were gratified that somebody was sticking up for their city – the de facto capital of the United States and as pro-American a place as anywhere in America. But some critics attacked John Stewart’s profanity, forcing him to clarify:

“…it's not really fair, and it makes it seem like I'm just addressing Governor Palin about this, and I'm not. Just this whole entire theme that there are more American areas of the country, or some people love the country, some people don't.”

To sum up: “What I meant to say is, 'Fuck all y'all.'”

Although John Stewart’s comments are pretty polarizing, he managed to hit the nail right on the head when it comes to the thrust of the Republican campaign for the presidency – following the model which won them the election in 2000 and 2004.

Basically, by spreading the lie that conservatives and evangelicals in the red states (the ones who vote Republican) are somehow ‘better Americans’ than the egg heads, intellectuals and liberals in the blue states (the ones that tend to vote Democrat.)

I’m with John Stewart on this strategy. It’s divisive bullshit and it stinks.

The fact is, you can be anti-gun, pro-choice, pro-gay marriage and a life-long Democrat and still be a damn site better American than a tobacco-chewing, gun-loving Southern Baptist who has an American flag painted on his truck.

This whole idea of ‘if y’ain’t with us, yer against us’ and the insistence that ‘votin’ Republican is votin’ Patriotic’ is just offensive doublespeak intended to split the country in half and make dumb people vote on their gut instinct rather than on the issues.

This rancid attitude is everywhere. On SIRIUS radio, the right-wing talk radio station is called ‘SIRIUS Patriot’ (whereas the left-wing one has the limp title ‘SIRIUS Left.’) On TV and the radio, the right-wing pundits pound each other on the back and praise their rabid right-wing callers with ‘you’re a great American, sir.’

Somehow, lapel-pins, bumper stickers, American flags and ‘support the troops’ stickers have become the currency for patriotism, whereas the truth is the complete opposite of that.

You can have all the bumper stickers in the world, but it doesn’t make you a good American.

Patriotism is not falling into line with the rest of the pack. It’s not blind obedience to a government. It’s not the belief that your religion somehow makes you morally superior and worthy of dictating how others can live their life.

In fact, it’s fighting against all of the above. As famous historian Howard Zinn once wrote: "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism."

It’s time the liberals retook the term ‘patriot.’ Because what’s more patriotic than what they do?

• Thousands of Americans are dying in a bloody war overseas. Is it more ‘American’ to send more troops to that meat-grinder? Or angrily protest the war and attempt to ensure that as few brave American soldiers as possible end their lives, alone, on foreign sand?
  
• What’s more ‘American?’ To enforce your religious beliefs in schools and dictate to your offspring what they can and can’t believe? Or to fight to keep religion out of the classroom and stand up for parents to take responsibility for their children’s spiritual growth - in the privacy of their own homes or churches?
  
• What’s more patriotic? To bitterly attack other American’s inalienable rights to pursue ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,’ because it upsets your religious sensibilities, or to fight to give other Americans the same rights and protections that all citizens should enjoy, under the ethos that ‘all men are created equal.’
  
• Why is it unpatriotic to question the 2nd Amendment, because the Constitution is sacred, yet ‘patriotic’ for people like Sarah Palin to support a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage? How can patriots fight to support one freedom at the same time they fight to deny another? Why is the constitution sacred one moment, yet open to changes the next?
  

The American Nation was forged in the fires of rebellion and dissent – by brave men who refused to knuckle under the tyranny of an oppressive government. Contrary to popular belief, that rebellion continues to this day and it’s not the right-wing who represent the ‘patriots.’

The right-wing have come to represent the oppressive, religiously-driven regime that fights to dictate the scope of free men’s rights.

That’s not very American at all.

Don't get me wrong, the liberals can be just as bad. Gun control, redistribution of wealth... Many Democratic policies (especially the fiscal ones) are are repressive as the conservative ones.

So to help liberally minded people keep fighting the good fight - and to ensure they don't follow the right-wing down the dark path - here is my 'Patriot's Manifesto.'

The Patriot's Manifesto:

1. A true patriot never supports any move to repress freedom, and attacks any move to censor, repress, ban, control or outlaw any existing freedom (from gun-control to hard-core pornography.) Repression is slavery.


2. A true patriot constantly questions his government's decisions on the local, state and federal level, from tax rates and tariffs right up to military action overseas. Blind obedience is slavery.


3. A true patriot never allows religion, ideology or dogma to enter into any part of government - from religion in school to socialism in government. Dogma is slavery.


4. That being said, a true patriot never infringes the rights of an American to believe what they want in the privacy of their own homes, temples, churches or mosques. It's freedom 'of' religion, not freedom 'from' religion.


5. A true patriot never infringes the rights of another American if they don't infringe on their own - from gay marriage to what color your neighbour paints his house.


6. A true patriot questions all established theories - but from a position of logic, rationality and fact. It's fine to question Global Warming or Evolution - but not if your only source of information is The Bible or what you heard on The Bill O'Reilly Show (see Rule #8)


7. A true patriot supports independence in all things - from personally freeing yourself from credit-card and bank debt, to making America totally energy independent. Reliance is slavery.


8. A true patriot worships knowledge, rationality and fact - and strives to learn and teach as much as possible. Knowledge isn't just power. It's freedom. Parents have a duty to make sure that their children know more than they do - and things like 'non-explicit' sex education and teaching religious doctrine instead of scientific fact in school go against that. Ignorance is slavery.

I will admit, I'm no perfect patriot. I walk a fine line on some of the issues I've mentioned above (especially when they concern religion.) But overall, I think the philosophies above are the foundation of true patriotism and you'll find as much of that in New York and Boston as you will in a million Podunk towns across the Midwest.

Sarah Palin? Newsflash. Patriotism isn't dictated by geography OR politics.

Sarah Palin's Outfits

As many of you might have heard, Sarah Palin's in hot water at the moment.

She spent $150,000 dollars on clothing in the last month - something the Republicans have classified as "campaign accessories."

Clearly, the lovely lady looks very nice in the Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue outfits - but people are protesting that this so-called 'humble hockey mum' is falsely claiming solidarity with 'Joe Six Pack' - after all, she goes onstage wearing outfits that cost as much as his house.

I, too, think it's totally inappropriate. Don't come crying to me, Ms. Palin, about how you're just a 'regular working mom' when one month's clothes shopping is a multiple of my yearly salary.

"Oh, but it's okay," the Republicans claim. "She didn't pay for these outfits. The Republican Party did - just so she can look her best."

Oh my God, don't get me started on this rubbish.

First off, I think the GOP owes an apology to every single campaign contributor. Decent working Republicans donated significant amounts of their hard-earned income to help McCain's campaign. How do you think they feel about this silly woman blowing hundreds of thousands of dollars on pretty skirts instead of effective campaigning?

Secondly, as always, this reveals that the Republicans are about as far from the party of 'fiscal responsibility' as it's possible to get. Oh, McCain and Palin are all about saving money, eh? They're all about knowing the value of a dollar, are they?

Well, why the hell didn't she shop at Marshalls instead of Saks Fifth Avenue? Is 'Joe Six Pack' really going to be upset if she turns up to a campaign rally in outlet-discounted skirt and blouse instead of a sexy little number that cost the same as the average American's yearly wage?

Look at it this way. In the last month, this 'small town Mom' spent the equivalent of five (read that, FIVE) union worker's salaries. On clothes.

Most of us are struggling to fill up our gas tanks and pay our bills. Not pretty Miss Palin. She's playing Barbie doll with the Republican credit card.

And they have the gall to accuse Obama of being 'elitist.'

Now don't get me wrong. I know 'the clothes maketh the man.' I know the GOP want Sarah to look her best. But style doesn't have anything to do with expense. One of the few annoying things about the American mentality is the misguided belief that class has a price-tag attached to it. She could look GREAT on one tenth of the budget the Republicans gave her - and even $15,000 a month on clothes is still abjectly disgusting for somebody claiming to be just a 'regular Joe.'


And I certainly don't begrudge anybody who wants to wear those beautiful clothes. I mean, if I earned enough money, you bet your arse I'd be sporting Brooks Brother's sports jackets and zooming around the country in an Aston Martin. But the caveat of that is 'if I earned enough money.' Which I don't.

I admire the Donald Trumps and the Warren Buffets of this world. I think P-Diddy entirely justified in blowing his hard-earned dough on Cristal champagne with diamonds in the glass. I think the life and shopping habits of the super-rich are their own business and they're entitled to every silky luxury they can afford.

But not politicians. Not with other people's money, in any case. Not when they claim to represent the 'working man' and folks 'just like you.'

When Sarah Palin first came onto the political scene, I was quite enamoured by her. I think she was focused, capable and a good person. But she's no 'maverick.' Look how quickly this 'outsider' got enveloped by the bullshit and hypocrisy of politics.

It makes John Edwards' $400 haircuts look like chickenfeed.

Not Cricket...

I go on and on about conservative crazies, but it's important to remember that the left-wing have their own loonies - and often the crap they get up to is FAR more offensive than anything the right wing would attempt.

Case in point? Look at some of the Obama supporters who recently heckled at a media appearance by Sarah Palin.

It makes me think of something Messieurs Parker and Stone, creators of South Park, said regarding one of their more controversial episodes:

"We hate conservatives. But we really, really hate liberals."

Just remember, though - It's apparently McCain who's been running the negative campaign.

Palin as President

Follow the link below and click on objects in the White House to discover what life under President Palin would really be like!

http://www.palinaspresident.us/

The Sarah Palin Drinking Game

Now you can get shitfaced, all thanks to our lovely Republican VP nominee! All you need to do is watch her in a debate, interview or stalk her through the streets of Wasilla, AK.

Take One Drink If...

1. Sarah uses the phrase; "you betcha," "doggone," "Joe Sixpack", "darn right!" or "God bless."

Take Two Drinks Every Time...

1. Sarah makes a comment about her pondunk little hometown in Alaska.
2. Every time Sarah refers to herself as a 'Hockey Mom'
3. Every time Sarah claims McCain's tax-cuts for the rich would help regular, middle class folk (DOUBLE POINTS if she adds 'like me')

Take Three Drinks Every Time...

1. Sarah winks at the camera.
2. Sarah flirts uncomfortably with the head of state of a major Islamic nation.

Take Four Drinks Every Time...

1. She answers a question with a string of nonsensical words and phrases. (DOUBLE POINTS if she creates something batshit crazy, like the idea of 'healthcare reform' for the economy.)

Drink The Whole Damn Thing...

1. If she refers to herself as a MILF.
2. If Sarah whips out a rifle and shoots dead a wild animal in public.
3. Tells her pregnant teenage daughter that she should have used a condom.

The Ann Robinson of Veeps?

**wink**

The Vice Presidential Debate

Uniquely, last night's Vice Presidential Debate actually got more attention than the previous Presidential Debate. Apparently, America is far more interested in seeing Sarah Palin battle it out with Joe Biden than McCain and Obama bat back and forth.

Most people were expecting a bloodbath. After her appalling interview with Katie Couric, many had dismissed Sarah Palin as the fluffy little Hockey Mom - and she was going toe-to-toe with Washington veteran Joe Biden - a man who first entered the senate when Palin was just six years old.

In the end, she surprised everybody. Right from the moment she shook Biden's hand - and asked him sweetly "CanI call you Joe?" - she took control and the following debate showed her handling herself admirably.

Now the dust has settled, the media has reached a consensus that Joe Biden 'won' the debate. He did do very well - He reined in that big mouth of his, delivered concise, carefully worded responses and treated Palin like a true gentleman - anxious not to appear to be bullying her.

That being said, I think Republicans will be very happy with the way 'their girl' did. She injected folksy humor and cheery anecdotes into her fluent answers - and delivered them all with a confidence and charm that the audience appreciated. She even winked at the camera at one point.

Personally, I think she laid the 'small town Mom' shtick on a bit too thick - but certainly exceeded my expectations.

Say what you want, but this lipstick wearing pit bull is not to be underestimated.

Palin Speaks

The lovely Tina Fey reprised her role as Sarah Palin in this Saturday Night Live skit.

When I first watched it, I thought they were being a bit cruel - but it turns out that the jibberish speech Fey (as Palin) gives about the economic bailout was actually taken VERBATIM from the real Palin's interview with Couric.



You can CNN discuss the similarities in this short clip...

Palin Smackdown

Nobody's going to deny that there's bias in the media - just flick on Fox News and you'll see daily disinformation on a scale Joseph Goebbels would have been proud of.

But when it comes to Sarah Palin... Enough is enough.

I'll admit, I'm on the fence when it comes to Sarah. I like her plucky spirit and determination. I'm not so keen on her religious fervour or questionable opinions on the environment.

(To illustrate my conflict; as keen on hunting as I am, the 'ariel shooting' Palin advocates seems a little unfair. I mean, tracking down a wolf or moose with a high powered rifle makes hunting one sided enough. Targeting them from low-flying airplanes is just thoroughly unsporting!)

But whatever my reservations about Ms. Palin, I have noticed a landslide of negativity being sent her way by the press and media.

It's true that the media tends to have a liberal bias (with the exception of the Fox Propaganda Network.) But I can't remember it ever being quite so blatant before.

Sarah Palin is a nice enough lady. She's got a lovely family and a successful career - one she achieved all on her own, without any of the 'positive discrimination' feminists are screaming for. Sure, she's not perfect. But she's not bad, as far as it goes.

Yet the media is merciless in their attacks against her. Just this morning, I saw her being dismissed as 'a bucket of fluff.' People are openly questioning her political ability, her commitment to her family and even her dress sense.

Come on, guys. It's not only not very nice. It's also dumb. The more the liberal left attack Sarah Palin, the more they galvanise the moderates and the right wing to back up 'that nice little Alaskan lady.'

Not to mention, some of the attacks are just damn stupid.

Seriously, why would the Democrats make such a thing about Palin's perceived 'inexperience' when she's at least as experienced as their own Presidential candidate. I'm sorry, but that's just playing into the right wing's hands.

Whichever way you look at it, McCain pulled an ace from his sleeve when he selected Sarah Palin to stand for the vice presidency. The only way the Democrats are going to trump this clever move is by shelving the attacks against her - completely.

They need to play nice - to recognize Sarah Palin's refreshing perspective, her family values and her political ambitions. They need to pat her on the head, tell everybody what a good job lil' Sarah is doing and dismiss her as a political unimportance. Only then they can concentrate on the main target - McCain.

If they play nice, they won't seen to be mean spirited bullies. It'll pull the carpet out from the Republican's campaign and put them back on a level footing.

But I don't think the liberals are capable of that level of political sophistication. They're just going to team up on this friendly, family woman and bombard her with the sort of mean-spirited maliciousness they wailed about the Republicans aiming towards Hillary.

The scary thing? This election was the Democrats to lose - and a damn fine job they're doing of exactly that.

Palin plays Librarian?

Currently, the Republican campaign seems to consist of blowing irrelevant things out of all importance (like 'lipstickgate') while also trying to dismiss important things as 'minor flipperies' - like Sarah Palin's impractical suggestion to declare war on Russia.

One such 'non-issue' is Palin's former quest to ban certain books from the Wasilla, AK, public library.

When Sarah Palin was mayor of Wasilla, she approached local librarian Mary Emmons on three separate occasions to ask the question: "What is your response if I ask you to remove some books from the collection of the Wasilla Public Library?"

Mary Emmons immediately answered: "The books in the collection were purchased in accordance with national standards and professional guidelines, and I would absolutely not allow you to remove any books from the collection."

As it happened, no books were removed from the library - but Mary Emmons found herself fired a few weeks later for her refusal to go along with Palin's hypothetical demands.

She was only reluctantly restored to office by Palin after the people of Wasilla protested vehemently against the popular librarian's dismissal.

Now people are asking: What books was Palin thinking about banning?

According to the Republicans, Sarah Palin never had any intention of banning books from Wasilla public library. It was a purely hypothetical question.

However, Paul Stuart, a reporter for the Frontiersman newspaper, has a different story: "Mary Emmons told me directly that Palin asked her to remove Pastor, I Am Gay from the shelves."

Pastor, I Am Gay is a book by controversial local pastor Howard Bess. He wrote it while a churchman in California, in response to what he learned dealing with gay parishioners. The book was well known in Wasilla because Bess lived in the neighbouring town.

Pastor, I Am Gay examines the misconceptions and intolerance the Christian community has for it's homosexual members and (this is where the controversy comes in) suggests that Christians should act a bit more 'Christian' towards them.

Wasilla, being a rather conservative town, was no fan of this liberal pastor's book or it's ideas. No book store in the little town would stock the book and the two copies donated to Mary Emmon's library conveniently disappeared. Bess donated a further two copies about the same time Sarah Palin started asking Mary Emmons about banning books.

The controversy here is two-fold.

First off, no Vice Presidential candidate should be going around banning books. It's not just unconstitutional - it's wrong. Censorship and book-banning is the stuff of fascist and communist regimes and a fundamentalist mindset.

Secondly, it neatly reveals that Sarah Palin isn't the fluffy 'gay friendly' candidate she claims to be ('I have gay friends,' she claimed, despite changing the Alaska constitution to limit marriage as 'between a man and a woman.') Pastor, I Am Gay was controversial in conservative Christian circles because it challenged the bigoted status quo and forced 'good Christians' to actually start looking at their own behavior and exactly how 'Christian' it was.

The 'Moral Majority' have a long history of repressing any such self examination, because what it reveals is never pretty. In trying to get Pastor, I Am Gay banned from Wasilla public library, Sarah Palin reveals just where she stands when it comes to the choice between The First Amendment and 'good, old fashioned family values.'

Of course, there is the possibility that this is just a manufactured 'non-story' like the Republicans claim. Maybe Paul Stuart is lying and Sarah Palin never intended to ban any books from the Wasilla library.

But in politics, just like in everything else, there's a a certain wisdom in remembering: 'Where there's smoke, there just might be somebody burning books.'

Manufactured Outrage

"I was just your average hockey mom. I love those hockey moms, you know, they say, what is the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick." Sarah Palin, at the RNC.

"John McCain says he's about change... ...except for economic policy, health care policy, tax policy, education policy, foreign policy... ...That's not change. That's just calling something the same thing something different. You know you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig. You know you can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change, it's still going to stink after eight years. We've had enough of the same old thing." Barack Obama, campaigning in Virginia.

It's comforting to know that the Republicans are still the party of dirty tactics, outright lies and totally retarded manufactured scandals.

'Lipstickgate' is the latest. The Republicans spotted that Obama had used the term 'lipstick on a pig' in a recent campaign rally (a line both Obama and McCain have used several times during this election.)

Remembering that Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin had described herself as a 'pitbull in lipstick,' they cut that one line out of his speech and used it - totally out of context - to suggest that Obama had called Palin 'a pig.'

Stupid - deeply stupid - right wingers are actually buying this garbage.

The McCain camp released this statement: "Obama was referring to Gov. Sarah Palin. It's obviously disrespectful and offensive. ... Who else has been talking about lipstick lately? It was obvious. The [Democratic] crowd went crazy because of it..."

I'm not sure really what's worse. The fact that the Republicans did something so transparent (I mean, seriously...) or the fact that some of their supporters don't see through it for what it is.

In our age of soundbites, you can take anything out of context and make it look shocking. Just take a peek at this small tidbit snipped from one of Hillary Clinton's campaign speeches.



The actual transcript of her speech was about how she rejects the idea of private-school voucher proposals, saying they'd encourage the development of schools with extreme political, social or religious agendas:

“Imagine the first family that comes in and says ‘I want to send my daughter to St. Peter’s Roman Catholic School.’ You say ‘Great, wonderful school, here’s your voucher. Then the next parent comes and says, ‘I want to send my child to the school of the Church of the White Supremacist …’ The parent says, ‘The way that I read Genesis, Cain was marked, therefore I believe in white supremacy. … You gave a voucher to a Catholic parent, you gave it to a Jewish parent - under the Constitution, you can’t discriminate against me. So what if the next parent comes and says, ‘I want to send my child to the School of the Jihad? … I won’t stand for it.”

But a bit of editing makes it look like she's proclaiming herself as a white supremacist.

In this day and age, you have to take every quote with a pinch of salt and find out what the context was behind it. If you don't? You're just a bleating sheep, calmly shambling along wherever the political shepherds want you to go.

Sarah Palin photos...

Ever since rather yummy Vice Presidential Nominee Sarah Palin hit the headlines, the Internet's been abuzz with rumours of photos of her in a bikini.

Which is one of the most retarded concepts in Internet history.

Sure, we'd all love to see Sarah Palin in a bikini, since she's a rather attractive lady who fought off the baby bulge by hiking, hunting and shooting moose.

But does a photo of her clad in a two piece actually exisit?

Well, she lives in Alaska, which is, by all accounts, not exactly bikini territory. Weather reports vary from 'a bit chilly' to 'so cold the sun hasn't come out in three months.'

So, if Sarah Palin HAD been snapped in a bikini in the Alaskan backwoods, she'd have to be the biggest badass in Republican history!

Sorry. I can't deliver a picture of Sarah Palin in a bikini. Nor can I deliver pictures of Sarah Palin naked (apparently another popular search.) What I can provide is a picture of her from college, back in the eighties, wearing a cute t-shirt that proudly proclaims:

"I may be broke - but I'm not flat chested!"

Even at an early age, she realised she had two attributes that would get her far in politics!

[Was this entire post a cynical attempt to gain traffic by exploiting people's Internet searchs? - Editorial Bear.]

Stuff you didn't know about Sarah Palin...

Courtesy of Reverse_Vampyr...

• Sarah Palin is the reason compasses point North.
• Sarah Palin’s enemies are automatically added to the Endangered Species List
• Sarah Palin was not flown to Ohio in charter jet- she ran as part of her morning workout.
• Sarah Palin begins every day with a moment of silence for the political enemies buried in her back yard.
• When Sarah Palin booked a flight to Europe, the French immediately surrendered.
• Sarah Palin’s finishing move in the VP debate will be pulling Biden’s still beating heart from his chest & taking a bite.

Find more 'Palin Facts' at Palin Facts