Nine (9) Reasons Why I Don't Support Sarah Palin

Hey all, some of these have be stated in my previous blogs which is why I started each with a topic and went on to talk about that particular topic. If you have read something I've written on the subject before, feel free to skip it. I hope I didn't make any typos but please forgive any should you come across here and there
-Runie
1. NRA: they (Palin in particular) is anti-guncontrol laws....this means more people can access guns with less restrictions. more VA Tech? more NIU? I think not! (Last VP to be a part of the NRA, by the way, was Dick Cheney-you know the VP that shot a guy while hunting????)

2. Pro Life Stand: they both don't support abortions, and Palin has stated not even in the case of rape (straight out of her mouth during an interview replayed on CNN). Ok, lets not be concerned with the mental rammifications of rape and make sure that all individuals have a child they are not physically or mentally prepared for! genius ideas there McPalin....

3. Off Shore drilling-Palin influenced McCain into the whole offshore drilling thing for oil. First off, I recently found out that it takes about 10 years for the oil to reach the surface once the oil rig is set up. Secondly, I guess the Republicans don't really care about the environment (It took Bush Jr. forever to finally realize the effects of Global Warming and Sarah Palin herself does not believe that human beings are the cause of Global Warming). Secondly, I guess it was stupid of me to expect a hunter to understand the environmental effects this will have on wildlife. They obviously don't care.

4. The Banning of Books: Sorry but I believe it is up to the parent what his or her child reads and not the governor of a state. I think it is incredibly horrible that she would even consider doing such a thing! Let me impose my views on everyone else!???? I love how the Republicans totally skip over the 1st Amendment and automatically go to the Second. They also tend to skip over the Fourth! This is horrendous to me. We need to protect our Constitution. It is the single most important document in our democracy (totally not excluding the Declaration of Independence, but that doesn't give us a democratic government-the US Constitution does).

5. Tax Cuts: In an economy where the American budget is so deep in a hole, how can we think about cutting our revenue?????? Because of the Bush tax cuts, we have seen a consistent bad economy. Even when our economy had an up-turn, it was short lived. The past 8 years might as well have been a depression, but the Republicans never wanted the word recession used! And the McPalin administration wants to continue this ineffective and irresponsible way of dealing with the economy!

6. the Media: don't be fooled by what the media puts out on Palin. The choice to keep her 4-month old is not a Pro-life decision....there are many people who are pro-choice that would opt for the same thing as Palin did! The choice of her daughter to keep her child is not a Pro-life issue....many pro-choice individuals would opt for the same thing as Bristol! The whole thing about her being a mother of 5 and running the government is a total and complete non-issue that came out of the Religious Right (Dr. Laura) not the Left! The media jumped on Dr. Laura and continued with the very topic over and over again, without quoting Dr. Laura every time, making the general public actually think it was the Democrats (and by association, the Obama camp) that brought it up-nothing could be further from the truth considering it is the Democrats who consistently fight for equality (of the sexes and of the races and of the sexual orientations).

7. VOUCHERS!!!!!!!!!!!: OMG, the most horrible thing any public school person will ever hear!!!!! lets keep the bad schools bad and the good ones good and those that can afford it or are lucky enough to get a voucher (in the bad districts) can get their kids out. The dumbing down of our educational system! But that's typical of the Republicans because they win when people don't question....If we dumb down the system, people will not question and will not participate! What a concept!

8. Abuse of Power: We see this time and time again with the Republicans in particular. Good ol Nixon employed the use of the "Plumbers" to spy on the Democrats at the Watergate Hotel to ensure his re-election (then he conviently forgot about what happened and the fact that there were hours of deleted tape from the Oval Office.) As I've already stated, Palin used her position as mayor to ensure the firing of a public librarian who refused to ban certain books from the Wasilla Public Library. As governor, she continued this abuse when he supposedly fired a man (state trooper) because he refused to fire Sarah Palin's sister's ex husband. Her sister was apparently in the middle of a horrible divorce when Palin reportedly asked and STRESSED over the firing of this State Trooper.

9. Earmarks and The Bridge to Nowhere: As mayor of Wasilla, Sarah Palin sent lobbyists to DC for the purpose of getting $$ for the Bridge to Nowhere. When she became governor (after the American Public nicknamed it the Bridge to Nowhere), she decided against the Bridge (due of popular demand); however, it was AFTER she got the money for it!

-When people ask me why I don't support Sarah Palin and by association, John McCain, I cite these reasons. I am not a woman who simply sees another woman and says "Hey cool-I'll vote for her!" The women who do so, are simply not for equality and deserve the second class standing they currently enjoy in society. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but it's true. Sarah Palin, in my own words: an anti-woman woman! She, and McCain, like George W. Bush, simply do not care about the common man nor do they care for equality. They see the status quo as equal...however, it's NOT equal. Sarah Palin is simply an extension of the Phyllis Schaffley sort of view that knocked the ERA down in the 70's. I am a proud woman who supports equality and the future of this country and because I care about this country, I SIMPLY CANNOT SUPPORT A MCCAIN/PALIN/BUSH ADMINISTRATION!!!!!!!! (Yea, I actually love this country and I'm a Democrat! NEWS to the Republicans probably...)

-Aruna (Runie)

BlueWave campaign training (9/13/08)

Hey all.
Today was an amazing morning. Rowell, Pam, Lindsey, Sham, and I attended a BlueWave campaign training event. This is a grassroot organization that is simply amazing. Governor Corzine, both of NJ's US Senator's were there: Bob Menendez(jr. Senator) and Frank Lautenberg (sr. Senator), along with a few of those running for re-election in the House and/or those running against incumbant Republicans, Linda Stender, David Kurkowski, Steven Rothman, Dennis Shulman, etc. (the 15 Congressional representatives were not all there, but a few were).

They were vibrant speakers who wowed the crowd of about 500 New Jerseyans. Today I felt proud to be a New Jerseyan!!!!! Not that I'm not always proud, I love this state, but in terms of the national politics, it was simply amazing. I felt like I was in a mini convention while they were speaking. Linda Stender, in particular, got to me-there are NO WOMEN in the NJ delegation to Congress-SHE will be the ONLY WOMAN in the NJ delegation when she wins it this November! It's time we change the status quo and elect her in her district! If you are in the 7th Congressional District, please please get out there and vote on November 4th!!!! She needs your help to help you!!!

Also, Bob Menendez alluded to Bill Clinton's Convention Speech, in which he stated (and I'm not quoting exactly because i will do it no justice) that America, in order to restore her favor in the world, must NOT lead by the example of our force, but by the force of our example...meaning, stop scaring the world with our big bombs! Diplomacy works best!!!!

We are the party of Franklin Roosevelt-the party that says we care about the people and COMMUNITY ORGANIZING IS NOT A JOKE!!! (sorry to ruin that for ya Rudy!) See, the Republicans know that they win when people don't participate, but guess what: WE ARE PARTICPATING because of people like Barack Obama who get out there and show us that there actually are politicians that care about the people!

This is why they chose Sarah Palin as their token woman! Let's face it, Palin has no real experience: she send lobbyists to DC to get money for her state and then when she gets the money, she uses it for something totally different; she doesn't care about the health of women, especially mental health; she doesn't care about the effects humans have on global warming which is evident in her wanting to drill-I wonder what that would do to the environment!!!! In fact, she denies that humans have any part to play in global warming. Do we really want someone who rejects anything that could possibly help the people in Office????

We want politicians who care. Americans are disillusioned with politics because of the things I've stated above about both Palin and McCain (in fact). In the words of the soon to be Congressman (and because I'm sure we're turning NJ totally blue in November) The Honorable Dennis Shulman, we don't want a "McBush" presidency in November!!! We want people who care about the people and that means not only electing Barack Obama to be President of our 50 incredibly great states and our territories, but turning NJ blue and the rest of the nation blue as well!!!! We can do it, so long as everyone turns out! Please get out on November 4th and voice your dissatisfaction with the "McBush" policies!!!!

-Aruna (Runie)

BlueWaveNJPAC

Hey guys,
I tried to RSVP for all of us and here was their reply. We all have to RSVP separately.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Thanks for your interest, please register online to save a space at the event

http://www.bluewavenjpac.org/goto-registraton.htm

Help win NJ for Barack Obama, Senator Lautenberg and all of our Democratic candidates

Hey Everyone!!!
So here is the invitation I received from a friend. Let's try to get organized and participate in this event together as the Kean Democrats. Please let me know by Thursday (Tomorrow) so I can RSVP for us as a group.
Thank you,
Pam Guzman
pamg1106@gmail.com
Cell#: 908-906-9010
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Help win NJ for Barack Obama, Senator Lautenberg and all of our Democratic candidates


WHAT:
BlueWaveNJ PAC and the New Jersey Democratic State Committee offer a special day of training for election work. Participants will learn about:


Get-Out-the-Vote (GOTV) activities


Voter registration and absentee ballots


Effective communication through letters, op-eds, and blogs


Field leadership training


Breakfast is included.

WHEN:
Saturday, September 13, 2008, 9–1 P.M.
Registration starts at 8:30 A.M.

WHERE:
Montclair State University, University Hall,
College of Education and Human Services, 7th Floor
1 Normal Avenue, Montclair, NJ 07043
Directions

WHO:
Anyone planning to work for Obama or other Democratic candidates is welcome and encouraged to participate. Invited speakers include: Governor Jon Corzine, Mayor Cory Booker, members of Obama’s NJ staff, candidates Senator Lautenberg, Linda Stender (7th District), Dennis Shulman (5th District), and other NJ Congressmen and candidates.

ADMISSION/REGISTER INFO:
Admission is free but advance registration is required to ensure a space. Register at BlueWaveNJPAC.org or send email to caryc@bluewavenj.org.

INFORMATION:
Contact marciam@bluewavenj.org, 201-247-4668, or caryc@bluewavenj.org for more information.

Sarah Palin-yet again

Ok, first off, I agree with just about everything Rowell said. If the Democrats get caught up in this character warfare the Republicans are putting out there, we stand a great chance of giving the White House to the Republicans in January. We need to keep it to the issues-the issues are where the Republicans are dead wrong. Like Rowell stated in the previous blog, McCain is not strong on the economy...he wants a war which his running mate says "is in God's hand" so I guess that means McCain and Palin doesn't exactly have an exit plan for us since God has a plan for it????

This gets me to the point of this particular blog. The last person to "talk to God" was George W. Bush and well, that got us pretty far. The far religious right is killing this country. Be religious, have your faith-no one is saying no. The First Amendment gives you this right and no one can ever take it from you. However, it is when religion becomes an excuse for things that I have a problem. I am a huge believer in God as are the others blogging on this site and it really sickens me when people USE God where God should NOT be an excuse for bad decisions. Now GWBush stated that this was a crusade (when we first started fighting these 2 wars) and that was perhaps the WORST mistake he ever made. That makes a jihad justified and basically says no rules apply since its a Crusade-a Holy War. Apparently Palin did not get the memo on this and continues to say that we are doing God's work in Iraq. I wonder if the McCain camp knows that CNN and HBO and FOX are worldwide cable networks-just because its American news doesnt meant that others are not hearing what we're saying!!!!

Other than the God issue I have with the Republicans in this particular election:
1. Palin's decision to keep her child is not a pro-life decision. There are many women who are pro-choice who would also make the same decision. That choice is NOT reserved for pro-lifers!!!!!
2. Her child's decision to keep her child is not a pro-life decision as many pro-choice people also keep their children. We need to stop making her a hero for pro-life because of these 2 issues because she's NOT!!!!!
3. Her child's decision to have unprotected pre-marital sex should influence her decision to stop abstinence-only education and start promoting safe-sex education which ALSO TEACHES ABSTINENCE!!!!!

I'll end with what I started with: we need to stick to the issues!!! the whole thing about lobbyists and all of that is total BS from the Republicans sicne Palin sent Lobbyists to DC for the Bridge to Nowhere and then when the nickname took hold, decided against it. Palin sold that helicopter(not on EBay) and LOST money off the deal...

Dr. Laura (highly conservative republican) is anti-palin because of the whole family thing. ITS NOT DEMOCRATS THAT ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THIS!!!!!!!! its the Republicans!!! and its such a major non-issue that the media is on it like we are on Britney Spears! GET BACK TO THE THINGS THAT MATTER!!!!!! (BTW, the Democrats are the ones who, for the past 30+years, have been fighting for working mothers and their rights! such as equal pay for examply. Does it really make sense that it would be the Democrats who criticize a hard working mother????? I mean seriously think about that one for a minute!!!!)
-aruna

On Palin and Republicans: Part 1

A brief preface before I begin and I apologize in advance for its generalizations, but I must keep to the subject matter and thus we’ll have to do without cases for the former . . .

I think it’s unfair to apply democratic properties, and then expect them hence forth, to the U.S. news-media institutions. It’s certainly fallacious to imbue and generate perspectives within the media’s forums, in the hopes of edifying the political strife of the day—almost all of the times one is co-opted into the public debate and bestowed stupefied views, ordained to battle within limits truly inane. Mainstream media outlets are a great forum to evaluate current issues. Not for the sake of civic responsibility or to rationally express one’s advocacy, but rather to get a sense of where the periphery skirts on the issue and to depict how narrow or wide the circuits of conversation flow. With this in mind, it’s interesting that public suspicions of social institutions are at an all time high and that theory conspiracies run rampant in similar exuberance. This obviously includes politicos on their pedestals, entrenched in the media’s lavish attention span, as both regurgitate public pieties, though more refined (this is not to be confused for democracy’s representative principles and instead it should be averred that it’s a republic’s aristocratic monopoly); witness the blithe usage of “reform”, “special interests”, “lobbyists”, “[pejorative]… government”, “corruption”, “mainstream media”, “same old politics”, “…corporations”, “big oil”, etc. It’s a new trend that is cultivated by a behemoth industry called Public Relations, an extraordinary institution itself that evidences “politics as the shadow cast by business over society”, as John Dewey exclaimed in the early 20th century. It is a virtual axiom and a great indicator of which way the wind blows in the 21st century, as “the shadow” becomes more unctuous and devious; Hillary Clinton’s (a woman) campaign head was—even after he resigned—Mark Penn who is the CEO of Burson-Marsteller, one of the largest PR corporations in the world. (Side note: It’s interesting how Pam cites Bill Clinton for, ‘It’s the economy, stupid!’, when it was actually James Carville who boostered the phrase in hopes of wooing voter concern [much like today]; an economy which utterly afflicted the 3rd world during Clinton’s two terms, doing not much for the U.S. middle class and less for those beneath [not my analysis but that of Paul Krugman], and which paved the way for the recent subprime debacle.)

Coincidentally, the preceding explication is not from my own inspiration or whim, but rather a summation from the Mark Penn’s industry guru, Edward L. Bernays—a man who is much more eloquent than I and has a corpus for a CV.

As Bernays took note in the 1930’s (and I adjusted for “social inflation”), political conventions have an ability to stoke ire in its contemporary fray despite meek platitudes, prim speeches, and mannered zeal. They stir contentions induced by coverage from the entire media spectrum and I mean that categorically, as these conventions are a quadrennial event where they elbow Hollywood and Fashion for room in their fiefdoms—us. Nevertheless, conventions are provocative, despite orators’ stultifying pauses for applauds and glib colloquialism, and they’re not provocative because of the political jabs. These conventions manifest a flux in dissension because people are already successfully roused by their own prejudice (I didn’t use the word lightly) and merely wish to prove their veracity (somehow)—especially, in cognizance of the incumbent mercenaries at the White House. All in all, conventions are meretricious events with little importance to glean, except on learning the latest circumlocutions and chicanery of the issues . . .

Enter Sarah Palin. Much of this blog’s previous entries concerning McCain’s move are pretty much on the money. Voter suasion is pretty minimal. If it’s suppose to serve as beholding to the new mantle set by Hillary and Obama in politics, Palin’s VP nomination was a banal display by the Maverick. As it was previously stated in earlier blogs, Palin is less for the women’s movement (and I add) than Hillary. So that isn’t much of a reason to serve beholden to the new mantle. Palin is less of an experienced leader than Obama is unless you consider a bunch of white people with similar interests as demanding, a gargantuan wilderness with a vestige of civilization at it’s southern ports as qualified, and saying you battle corruption in the most corrupt state of the union where no news (until recently) of corruption-busting is ever heard, as exceptional. Palin is less of a prospective intelligence than the dotard McCain, unless you consider the decision to not abort her down syndrome baby in light of her pro-life advocacy which contends with pro-choice (in case you missed it, a decision presupposes a choice) as brilliance. However, Palin has followed through on the Republican’s trend of conservatism, by which like the rest of them, she is hardly conservative.

In this revelation, Palin almost but assuredly clinched the presidential victory for the Democrats in November. That is if we do not do something hideously stupid, like tying our efforts to character assassination, which is unnervingly fond for Biden. There are things we must keep to if it is decided that we are to win instead of compete. The difference there is that an election calls for propounding the candidates’ stance on the issue, in comparison to the rival party. If Democrats relent and compete in the who looks best and who looks worse affair, bickering and igniting slanderous media intimations, then you’ll level the playing field for the Republicans. Celebrity; that’s what this nation shamefully loves and politicos foster. There is a reason why an unbelievable proportion of the country is categorized under the label Democrat and why they hardly show up to vote, both physically and on the tally sheets. Lets not reinforce this dastard, invisible force by playing to its forte, vaudevilles.

Now, Palin demonstrates little importance except she’s a nice touch to the menagerie, that night she was introduced. Keep in mind, vaudevilles are their things and the issues are not. Taking their cue from Hillary, the elite who cried elitism, they highlight Obama’s groomed habits, articulateness and swagger, with furious vim. But, is it really Willard’s (Mitt Romney’s real first name, the name of his father’s best friend and hotel powerhouse J. Willard Marriot) place to excoriate the eastern Obamian elites with his $250 million dollar wallet bulging from his back pocket? Is it really drag queen Giuliani who says Obama patronizes Alaskans because it’s not cosmopolitan enough? Is it McCain’s place to talk about the economy when he knows squat about economics? What does it mean when he recruits Palin for the sake of women after losing his temper in 1992 (in public) and called his lipstick plastered trollop of a wife… exactly that? And then comes Palin to play her role in the lampoon; a nice complement to McCain’s hoary sheen, but I much prefer her with her hair up.

Notice, I’m not focusing on the issues because I don’t want them to look like they have nothing going for them. And it’s not because I’m voting Democrat this year that Republicans are taking the brunt of my critiques. Rather, they are actually the fringe group in this new political order of things, at least this time around. They are a dying breed whose sole purpose is to help the public to settle from their reel of the past 8 years. The important thing about Sarah Palin is that she is a mild harbinger for “the shadow of business”. The Republicans have accepted the new playing fields and Palin is proof. The shadow cast by business—politics—has crept a little more out, circumscribing a little more tolerance when dealing with its nemesis: the public. And upon a healthy examination of the issues, it becomes obvious that despite that the Republicans’ new tolerance, they will not be held accountable to issues after January 1st.

As two women have said before, the former which would have never attained such a position prior the 1960s and the latter which would never be taken serious today:

Dana Perino: So we believe that the President stood on his principle. He hasn't chased public opinion polls. He's aware of them, but he hasn't made decisions because of them, and I think there's a distinction. Just because you don't make decisions based on opinion polls doesn't mean you don't care what people think. We are all Americans. We care deeply about what people think.
Journalist: The American people are being asked to die and pay for this, and you're saying they have no say in this war?
Perino: I didn't say that, Helen. But, Helen, this President was elected –
Journalist: Well, what it amounts to is you saying we have no input at all.
Perion: You had input. The American people have input every four years, and that's the way our system is set up.

Dana Perino, White House Press Secretary
Press Briefing, March 20, 2008

Our democracy is but a name. We vote? What does that mean? It means that we choose between two bodies of real, though not avowed, autocrats. We choose between Tweedledum and Tweedledee…
You ask for votes for women. What good can votes do when ten-elevenths of the land of Great Britain belongs to 200,000 and only one-eleventh to the rest of the 40,000,000? Have your men with their millions of votes freed themselves from this injustice?

Hellen Keller, writing in 1911 to a suffragist in England



PS If any you want sources, just email me. I did this on the fly and did not cite.

Palin on Sex Ed(Thanks for the article Pam)

So I checked my Kean e-mail today and there was an email from Pam...I read the article and it made perfect sense. Palin and the religious right needs to face reality. The fact of the matter is that abstinence is the ONLY way to prevent both pregnancy and STDs. However, this is not realistic. Teens are having sex and if we want our teens to be protected, we need safe sex education in the classroom. We need to educate our teens on how to protect themselves so that the STD rate and the Pregnancy rate doesnt keep rising! This is definitely a must read article...please take a moment out of your schedules to read this! Thanks again Pam.

-Aruna