The Problem With Sarah

I like Sarah Palin.

I can hear all the boos and hisses roaring through cyber space as both my Republican and Democrat friends are reading that line. But, it’s true and I don’t mind admitting it. Would I vote for her? Not today, maybe not in 2012. Do I think she would be a good candidate? Sure. Why not? Anything is better than the current occupant of 1600.

That “why not”, has become a fun phrase for me this Holiday Season on the precipice of what will surely be an announcement in the next couple of months. Mostly because I am not clear on the polarizing effect this woman has on people. I don’t see the reason there is so much hate directed towards her by both R’s and D’s. So, I have been asking everyone I can: “why not?” Frankly, I’m getting the answers I expected.

This week in New York City I posed the question to some of my favorite people. Folks I consider bastions of intelligence and fair mindedness. Except when it comes to Sarah.

This is how one conversation went, with the most vehement of Sarah haters in the group. I am leaving the person’s name out on purpose because I don’t want to embarrass them. Let’s call the person SPH.

Me: Tell me the real reasons why you don’t like Sarah Palin?

SPH: Because she’s so stupid.

Me: Really? Palin’s stupid? Did you make $30 million last year?

SPH: Stupid people are capable of making money too you know.

Me: Do you really think she is stupid? Tell the truth?

SPH: Ok, no, she’s not stupid but she has set women back 40 years?

Me: How?

SPH: Oh come on.

Me: Seriously, how? How has she set back women? I am assuming you mean equality wise.

SPH: It’s so obvious.

Me: OK. Then why am I missing it?

SPH: Mama Grizzlies?

Me: What about them? What’s the problem with being a strong woman? What is the problem with protecting your family, being loyal to your family? You’re a feminist, why can’t a woman embrace these things? Does every woman have to be Gertrude Stein?

SPH: Nothing is wrong with those things. That’s where she should stay, at home protecting and being loyal to her family. She has no experience.

Me: City council member, Mayor, Governor, Candidate for Vice President. Responsible for cutting the Gubernatorial budget by 80% in Alaska, bringing awareness to Alaska, teaching the State businesses that they need to form an economy not dependant on Federal spending. That’s just a short list and you call someone like this inexperienced? Have you met our current President?  He has never done any of that and certainly isn’t doing any of it now. So, let me ask again, do you honestly believe Palin to not have any experience? Oh, and also, are these things a stupid person is capable of accomplishing?

Silence.

Me: Come on? I’m listening. I want to know, why is Sarah Palin in your lexicon of hate?

SPH: She pisses me off.

Me: Why?

SPH: She’s a whiner. Always bitching about the media and how they portray her. Thinking they are out to get her.

Me: They’re not? Of course, they are out to get her and you’re swallowing it right up. For the amount of time Palin is out there pitching, the only thing the media ever focused on is piddly little mistakes everyone makes. Trust me, under the same microscope everyone would look like an idiot. They have absolutely targeted Palin.

SPH: See? She even has you believing it.

Me: Because it’s true! Sometimes things are what they are. They hate Palin, just like you do and for what reason? That’s what I am trying to figure out. I think Bush haters are kind of ridiculous too, but at least he had a record they could rightly or wrongly, draw upon. Sarah’s record is pretty damn impressive. Sarah’s dealt with a media induced smear campaign since day 1.

Well, I still haven’t figured it out. I had that very same conversation with different derivatives and no solid reasons were given.

I know what the problems with Sarah are on the political level. What I don’t get is the deeply personal issues people have with her.

I, for one see no reason why she wouldn’t make a good candidate. I don’t think she is stupid. I think she builds on her experience everyday and she learns something from all of her projects. Palin knows how to bring awareness. Her curb appeal is obvious to me. Whether or not she has the real substance behind it is what is bothersome. I think she has the basis to be a great leader. She’s cheap, understands the plight of the American family, realizes that an economy cannot rely on Federal spending to move it along, and knows how to protect those she loves. That is an American leader. Not some Johnny come lately jackass community organizer elected President merely because his predecessor conjured enough hatred amongst the American public that any change was considered acceptable. Talk about lowered expectations.

Sarah’s problem is what I refer to as the polarization of the Coasts. I’ve said it before and am sure I will say it throughout my life as I don’t see it changing. The East and West Coast doctor the spin in politics and they hate Sarah. The coasts lead the charge in any Presidential election and the middle of the country tends to just follow along. The Coasts love to intellectualize everything.

I love intellectualization. It’s fun. If I had the opportunity, I would do nothing but sit around all day and intellectualize everything in my life. I would live inside my own head and have great fun thinking about things like; what would happen if instead of teaching my son right from wrong, left from right, etc., I just sat here and observed the wonder of him trying to figure it all out on his own. What would happen? What if I didn’t go outside chop some wood and started a fire, or turned up the thermostat to keep warm. What would freezing be like? Would I be better intellectually for the experience? I mean I know from what others have taught me that my son would end up a ravaged dolt, we would die from exposure and so on and so forth. But, do I really know it? Maybe I should just sit here and think and let life go on about me.

Well, that’s a cheap example but it’s pretty much what the Coasts like to do. They seem to tarry to the sort of people who would rather sit around enjoying their own oblivion lost in thought rather than actually doing something about anything at all. And, anyone who speaks in plain and simple truths are just plain stupid. Sarah fits in that category to these people.

These people would rather hear a bunch of platitudes laid out in eloquent well-parsed oratory than hear the actual root of problems and their subsequent solutions. They would rather be sold a bill of goods aimed at making them feel better despite the fact that bill of goods will never be delivered.

Yeah, I cringe when I listen to some of her speeches too. Her style leaves me a little limp, but the foundation is there. She knows what a gallon of milk costs. She knows the value of a dollar, how to protect that value and how to communicate with the masses more than the intelligentsia. What the hell is wrong with that?

Oh, and did I mention, I think she’s hot?

Falderal's Oil Slicked Waterloo

In 2008, the euphoria of the Obama campaign resembled the excitement one feels while being taken up into a cresting wave. That sucking down towards the ocean bottom and adrenaline inducing vertical pull, as you are uplifted to the precipice is in my mind a great metaphor for those who supported the anointed one from Chicago. Phrases like the title of Obama’s book; The Audacity of Hope, and campaign trifles like Hope and Change had a cross generational effect not seen in many, many years. They got caught up into his wave.

The problem with the excitement of being pulled up into a wave whether it is real or metaphorical, is the inevitable crash down into the sand, rock, and rubble that can leave one beaten and battered and questioning whether becoming one with the wave was really worth it. For those caught up into it accidentally, or out of some sort of desire to be part of the crowd, the fall is not quite as poignant as it is for those who came into it full steam with all faculties working.

I have waited long enough to comment on everything oil slick. But, I really wanted time to see what was happening before espousing on this ludicrous situation.

First of all, let me state I am someone who would love to get off the grid and live a total energy independent lifestyle.  But, let’s face it; that ain’t happening anytime too soon and like everyone else I must look at the energy situation with some common sense. We are going to be dependent on oil for a long time to come, especially if our retarded Government keeps delaying funding research and capital investment in clean energy infrastructure. Or using whatever is already there like nuclear energy for instance. They would rather fund failed and failing social programs instead of investing in the economy of the future.

The BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster pains everyone. The mistakes, PR problems and lack of leadership all over the board could be postulated on and analyzed until the end of time, and probably will be. But, there are some very common sense issues at stake here that go beyond the technological issues of plugging the leak.

As usual, the finger pointing has taken precedence over the actual solving of the problem. I have been waiting for Lord Falderal to blame the Bush Administration, since…well…hell…why not?

We are all to blame.

I drive a car, most likely you, dear reader drive a car or operate machinery that requires crude. We love our electric lights, conveniences, etc. We consume, consume, consume and expect companies like BP to provide the supply for our demand. Rightfully, so. The last time I checked (although it is waning) we are a capitalistic society and operate on the principles of supply and demand.

BP is a company beholden to stockholders looking to make a profit. In so doing they provide not only our insatiable desire for oil, but also a good living for many thousands of people in the Gulf area, just like ExxonMobil, Chevron, or any of the other companies we take our oil business to.

Like any other business, they are going to look for ways to save money and provide larger profits and dividends for their investors. I realize this is a concept the guy posing as President in the White House doesn’t quite grasp, but nonetheless, it is what it is.

BP fucked up hard. They cut the wrong corners. On a moral level it is indefensible, but on a business level it is a decision based on historical precedent. They calculated (incorrectly) the variables associated with the possibility of a huge event and decided their course of action in developing safety measures and the appropriate responses would be designed to save a little money. It ain’t right, but you can see how it could happen.

Now they are the demons. BP’s response has been lackluster, they have tossed out PR screw up after PR screw up and the nation wants their collective heads on a stick.

I believe they are doing what any company would do and this is what we have to deal with. So we deal with it. We do the best we can. We don’t have a choice. But, we need some leadership on our end and that is where we are truly screwed because we don’t have it.

Lord Falderal has behaved far worse than BP has in my opinion. I believe the die has been cast for good ol’ Falderal and this is indeed his Waterloo. There has been no leadership from the very beginning. All he has done is threaten and cajole BP with absolutely no constructive plan whatsoever. If I were Tony Hayward or any other executive at BP, I would have told Falderal to pound sand when they forced BP to set up the $20 billion Escrow account under threat of legal ramifications. I would write off the White House, Congress, and the Senate and say; You know what? Deal with this your own damn selves.

It is Falderal’s job to protect the American people and our environment, not to play sophomoric power games. Given his chance to step up to the plate and show some leadership potential he has failed miserably. On Day 1, there should have been made available the full force of the stateside military, Army Corps of Engineers, Coast Guard and every private contractor we could find regardless of who caused the spill and where the blame fell. I mean, wtf?

There are so many examples of Falderal’s lack of leadership and petty little power plays. Governor Jindal asks for help with sand burms…nothing. Why? Because it is coming from Jindal and we can’t let him overshadow Fadleral and actually come up with a feasible solution. It took him far longer to make a visit to the Gulf than it did Bush to tour the wreckage from Katrina. We won’t accept foreign help because it may violate the Jone’s Act, even though the countries willing to help have more expertise and success in cleaning up oil spills than we do. It goes on and on and on. But, again it doesn’t matter; just fix the goddamn situation already.

As usual, the media is absolutely no help in all of this. Their emotion stirring controversies that may or may not actually be valid only make the overall problem worse. I don’t give a rat’s ass that Tony Hayward was racing yachts while Obama was playing golf during the crisis. I REALLY don’t need to be looking at the oil plume 24/7. This is a tragedy. It’s like watching your Mom get hit by a train over and over again.

Speaking of tragedy. What about the people who died in the disaster? There has been scant coverage of their lives and the families they left behind. They are just as heroic as the victims of 9/11, so how about some respect?

There is no good to come out of this at any level. The only possible glimmer of something shiny and pink may be that people will start thinking about losing the crude addiction more seriously. And, we may finally be able to consider Falderal a pathetic one termer, but even that is hollow in light of this awful situation.

The wave is crashing into shore and it is covered in the death of an ecosystem and the ruining of countless lives.

Patrick Kennedy, Nuts? Or, Right on Target?

I don’t know Pat Kennedy, the Democratic Congressman from Rhode Island and as regular readers of this blog probably realize, I was no fan of his Dad.

I do know his brother Ted Jr., however and he is one of my favorite people. I only wish he would run for office someday. We would all be lucky to have him. For those who don’t know him personally all you have to do is watch the footage of the eulogy he gave at Ted Sr’s funeral and you will know him. He is as genuine as the speech he gave. Unfortunately, Ted, Jr. lacks the one thing requisite of all successful politicians; he’s never had an ethical bypass. Therefore, we may never see him chase public office.

Patrick unlike Ted Jr., has inherited a lot of the curse of the Kennedy clan; he likes his booze, (although a currently recovering alcoholic) he also likes his women, and Paddy boy is no stranger to pile of white powder and a rolled up C-note, possibly neatly perched on the mid section of a high class prostitute.

That said, regardless of my disdain for the Lion of the Senate, I have to give his kids the benefit of the doubt based on my experience with other members of the family. Even Patrick deserves a little break given what he grew up with. I know, I know, filthy rich and famous he has no excuse, but think of the psycho crap that went on around him.

If you have seen the footage of Pat’s tirade in Chambers last week, you like me, may think the lad is all kinds of crazy and perhaps there was a little Chivas left over at the Hyannis Compound and Pat may have had a few tosses on his way to DC that morning. Here is the vid in case you missed it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_szCWi4Sr8

The main part of the video we are worried about here, is Kennedy’s admonition of the press in covering the war in Afghanistan, it happens right at the end of the video. Forget his crazy notions about how the war is being fought and blah, blah, blah. That is another blog post entirely.

Congressman Kennedy’s assertion that the coverage of the Afghanistan War is abysmal is right on target. He brings up the example of Massa and how there is 24/7 coverage of that fiasco, whilst barely anything of substance on the War. Kennedy asserts Congress like the masses that elected them, are only interested in salacious topics that really have no consequence at all except for political ammunition.

Does anyone really care about Massa, or any of these people engaging in what are acts of human foible? Well, we assume these people are human and subject to the same weirdness in compulsions as the rest of us. For some reason, we hold these people to a higher standard that on its face, just doesn’t exist. I mean we have seen the ultimate in scandal; blowjobs in the White House and semen stained Gap dresses and yet we got over it. These indiscretions are so unimportant in the overall scheme of things.

Meanwhile, we have young people dying across the world trying to ensure we can continue to live in the lifestyles we have become accustomed to, albeit in the last year at seriously diminished levels. Coverage of what is happening in Afghanistan has disappeared into the background.

Think about this for a second, when is the last time you really heard anything about Afghanistan? The State of the Union, maybe? Before that it was probably back in September when Lord Falderal stonewalled the world on how he intended to proceed with troop levels and pull out dates. Other than that, there is rarely a headline of any significance anywhere. Even Fox News who took to the airwaves and blasted Kennedy with claims they cover the War extensively are full of it. Fox may cover it more than the other media outlets, but just by a smidge. What they do cover one has to question the reasoning behind it.

The situation Lord Falderal has created in Afghanistan is rancid. His solution to send in more troops with the goal of pulling them out by July of 2011 is ludicrous at best. The truth is if we pull out without demolishing al Qaeda first, they will take over and become stronger in Afghanistan. Lord Falderal’s strategic thinking with the military is like his thinking with the economy; he doesn’t use the math the rest of us do. In Falderal’s world 1+1=3 somehow, and he will explain how it works. Unfortunately, too many people will believe him!

The reason we don’t hear about the War in Afghanistan in the press is that it is still not Falderal’s War, it’s still Bush’s War. Back when it really was Bush’s War we heard about it incessantly. Nary a day went by when not all of the national and international media had something to say about the way things were being handled.

For some reason the press has been reluctant to cede over the command of the War to Falderal, in the press anyway. It should be very obvious why this phenomenon is occurring. Unlike most of the voting public who are going through buyer’s remorse with Falderal, the media apparently doesn’t want to let go. They would prefer not to label Afghanistan as Falderal’s War. It just doesn’t fit into their ideology and they fear being the ones to call anything he does a failure. They are still holding onto Health Care for fuck’s sake!

So, as crazy as Patrick Kennedy may be, his passion is appreciated and he is ultimately right. This country needs to get back to the basics that matter: protection of our way of life, decent foreign relations, and a sound infrastructure. We have none of that and when the press decides not to cover the issues that relate to those things, as a Republic we tend to forget.

Cindy Sheehan: Idiot or Just in Need of Serious Therapy?

I have been kvetching about the lack of anti-war protestors since Lord Falderal took office last January. Apparently, protesting against war goes out of vogue when a Democrat takes office. I oftentimes wonder why it is these same people who were promised on January 21, 2009 the US would be withdrawing from Iraq and Afghanistan, lack interest in holding Falderal accountable for not carrying out his lofty and impossible promises.

It seems to be the worst kind of hypocrisy, especially when dealing with the loss of human lives. Are these protestors really against War? Or, are they just against Republicans and more specifically the Bush administration? The last time I checked those guys were no longer in power, yet we are still at war. The worst part is we are at war without a leader. Thank heavens for the Generals.

Lord Falderal’s inexperience should have been quickly recognized by anyone with a brain stem when he made those ridiculous claims about being able to check out of the wars at will. It doesn’t work that way; something Falderal quickly learned when he took office. And, as we all know his solutions (which really aren’t his but thankfully the Generals) included sending more troops to both theatres. That was the right thing to do however, a reasonable person could assume it would piss off the anti-war folks.

Well, apparently it did, but they chose to go after the wrong targets.

Cindy Sheehan and her crew of misguided sycophants recently protested in front of CIA headquarters and Dick Cheney’s home in Northern Virginia. Does that make any sense to anybody? Ok, maybe the CIA thing makes sense…barely. But, near the Great White Hunter’s house? What exactly were they trying to prove? Wouldn’t a protest in front of say…the White House, or maybe the Pentagon be a better use of time and energy? I had mentioned in an earlier blog that it was curious Sheehan wasn’t protesting during Falderal’s vacation in Hawaii. Yet, she camped out in Crawford, TX at the Bush crib for a protracted period of time.

Something else that was curious was the thread of this particular protest. Sheehan and her crew of merry protestors were barking out against the use of unmanned drones to take out al Qaida and Taliban targets in Afghanistan. Again, does this make any sense? The lives using drones saves is extraordinary. If you have to be at war this is a great strategy to use to protect American troops while accomplishing the intended goals.

I have nothing against war protestors. I hate war. War is stupid, but as long as we stay just one step above Barbarian status in this world there will always be wars. Speaking out against war is truly an American right and we should all be proud of it. But, for fuck’s sake, hold everyone accountable and be true to the actual ideal.

Sheehan isn’t in this for the right reasons; she wants someone to blame for her son’s death and understandably so. I can’t imagine the pain she must feel. Anyone parent who couldn’t empathize on that level with her is inhuman. The problem here is to lash out at those who have no say in the matter is foolhardy and quite insane actually.

If Cindy Sheehan and her followers really wanted to affect some kind of change she would be making her voice heard by the Falderal administration. This is their gig now. The Commander in Speech is the one to be harassing. Leave Cheney alone to quietly have his 53rd heart attack and take his place in Hell along with Kennedy.

I think I know what Cindy Sheehan’s problem is. I am no psychologist, but I am positive she needs lots and lots of therapy and not the kind that comes from yelling and screaming at false targets. My suspicion is that her followers stay with her solely out of sympathy and not solid beliefs in bringing on any real change.

Cindy has to learn what a lot of Bush haters have to learn. It’s over. They are gone. The guy you elected is now the one to blame and the one to go to when you are pissed. Who you should be pissed off at is yourselves for believing the drivel Falderal was spouting not just about the wars but everything else as well.

How’s that CHANGE working for you Cindy Sheehan?

And, His Response is More Bureaucracy?

All I care about is security. It’s the one thing I want from my government. In a perfect world we would barely know that government existed past election time. We could go about our business building the country on the capitalist model it was originally based on without having to worry about terrorist attacks from international radical organizations.

I don’t need government for anything else. Just about every function that government provides could be handled by private enterprise. From the building and maintenance of infrastructure to the task of taking care of the poor and those who cannot care for themselves, it could be done privately. We as a people can do anything better than government with the exception of protecting the nation on a global level. Yeah, this is a really lofty statement and it will never happen but it is possible. Maybe in another post I will lay out some of the reasons why it would never happen. The point is: beyond protecting us, government is useless.

That was my main reason for not wanting Lord Falderal to be elected. I knew given his inexperience and political philosophies, electing him to the position of Commander-in-Chief would be the biggest mistake this nation has ever made. I know, a bunch of you Bush bashers out there just threw up a little in your mouths. But, as I have said before as dumb as Bush may have been, I still felt protected.

Unfortunately, the memory of the average American runs pretty shallow. Lord Falderal’s promises of a unicorn in every yard and pot of gold at the end of every rainbow, was enough to get people to vote for his ridiculous notions of how to change things. Forgotten was the very real fact that bad people still want to take us down.

After 9/11, we all lived pretty terror free lives thanks to the former administration who stepped up to the plate and made damn sure we didn’t have the same thing happen again. Before this recent terror attempt, we as a country had pretty much fallen back to the way things were before 9/11. And, what has been the response of the current administration? Honestly, I don’t know.

What I do know is that no one in this administration seems to know what anyone else is doing. The communication between departments seems to follow no specific path. That alone would seem to indicate we should be very scared. As mush as people may have hated the boys + Condie Rice club of the Bush team, at least they always seemed to be on board with each other. And, when someone fucked up it was off with their head.

Now, we have this D-bag Napolitano going back and forth on deciding whether the system failed or not. Then we have Falderal making entirely different statements from hers. (Don’t they have phones between their departments?) Then we basically have two weeks of nothing at all from the Commander in Speech until finally he admits the buck stops with him and the system has failed in its entirety. Well, awesome, it is so refreshing to hear him take ownership and not blame the Bush crew for once.

However, Lord Falderal still doesn’t get it.

His solution to this, our biggest of problems by the way, is more bureaucracy. He wants more accountability, which will be achieved through additional layers of useless positions which we will pay many billions of dollars for. Here is a direct quote:

“I’ve directed agency heads to establish internal accountability reviews, and directed my national security staff to monitor their efforts.”

Uh ok.

I have a better idea Falderal. Try this on for size. How about treating the problem (which you really should wake up and realize is serious) with the urgency it requires. All your systems moved too slowly. There were so many levels at which we could have caught this scumbag Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. But let’s not belabor that point; it’s water under the bridge. The key now is to grow a set, stop acting the part of celebrity President, and do something to protect our country from these very dangerous and very real threats.

It is about empowerment. From the very beginning Lord Falderal has done everything within his power to demoralize our intelligence community. He took the power to interrogate from the CIA and handed it to the FBI. Excuse me? Our President has treated the War in Iraq as a civil criminal matter, not wars to be won.[1]

How would this empower and raise the morale of our dedicated intelligence agencies to do the best they possibly can? How is giving an international police agency (INTERPOL) powers over and above those of our own law enforcement supposed to make them feel worthy?

The answer is not more bureaucracy. The answer is remembering that no matter what, we do have a War on Terror going on and it is a bigger threat to our way of life than any other issue out there: healthcare, immigration, even the economy.

I am going to invoke a ghost here. We were left grossly under protected by Clinton when he hacked off the nuts of the CIA and let our military go slack as well. I believe rightly or wrongly, that that helped provide the vision for bin Laden when he ordered the attack on the Towers. It was the combination of those two events and the apparently unquenchable need to tempt the tiger, in this case Bush, to see how far they could go. They got their answer, in spades.

We are almost in the same lackadaisical position now as we were before the planes hit the Trade Center. You can bet terrorists all over the world were completely psyched at the outcome of our last election. Unfortunately, if Falderal doesn’t do something about it, these little breaches over the last year are going to be the smallest of terrorist attacks on US soil under Falderal.

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[1] Speaking of the War being a civil criminal matter; Mayor Michael Bloomberg has estimated the security costs of trying the 9/11 terrorists in NYC will be North of $250 mil. Nice, huh?