Sarah Palin stuff

[theatokos]

Two nicely written blog posts about Sarah Palin:

Scroll down to the second half of Savage Love.

A religious feminist's point of view on Palin.

Comments

[snowcalla.livejournal.com]

A small but important error in the blog....Palin is pro-contraception.



Do a google search and her quotes come up all over the place about being pro-contraception.
"I'm pro-contraception, and I think kids who may not hear about it at home should hear about it in other avenues," she said during a debate in Juneau.

Palin spokeswoman Maria Comella said the governor stands by her 2006 statement, supporting sex education that covers both abstinence and contraception.

Palin's statements date to her 2006 gubernatorial run. In July of that year, she completed a candidate questionnaire that asked, would she support funding for abstinence-until-marriage programs instead of "explicit sex-education programs, school-based clinics and the distribution of contraceptives in schools?"

Palin wrote, "Yes, the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support."

But in August of that year, Palin was asked during a KTOO radio debate if "explicit" programs include those that discuss condoms. Palin said no and called discussions of condoms "relatively benign."

"Explicit means explicit," she said. "No, I'm pro-contraception, and I think kids who may not hear about it at home should hear about it in other avenues. So I am not anti-contraception. But, yeah, abstinence is another alternative that should be discussed with kids. I don't have a problem with that. That doesn't scare me, so it's something I would support also."

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-sexed6-2008sep06,0,3119305.story

[ewigweibliche.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's a huge error to make. Not small at all! Thank you for pointing that out.

Also, KTOO! Woot! (My home town public radio station)

KTOO

[snowcalla.livejournal.com]

really? How neat! Very, very rarely does my hometown press put anything out worth noting.

Re: KTOO

[ewigweibliche.livejournal.com]

Public radio in Juneau is AWESOME. Seriously great radio. They have like three or four public stations. It rules.

also....

[snowcalla.livejournal.com]

Cutting the state budget for housing for pregnant teens, hunting animals from helicopters and opposing protections for endangered species, suggesting that God wills wars like the one in Iraq, and signing on to the McCain economic policies that favor the wealthy with tax cuts inspire no confidence in me.

1. Palin did NOT slash money from housing pregnant teens.

That is incorrect. This was from a Washington Post article (that was later retracted).

It is true that Palin trimmed the proposed $5 million allocation to $3.9 million in the 2008 budget proposal. However, The Washington Post did not tell readers that the state of Alaska's 2008 allocation was three times more than Covenant House Alaska received from all government grants in 2007.

According to records posted on the Covenant House Alaska Web site, the organization received just over $1.3 million from grants in 2007 and nearly $1.2 million in 2006. Even with the reductions, Palin signed a budget that provided a massive influx of support for troubled teens.



2. The God wills wars stuff- (underline is mine)

Sarah Palin on God:

GIBSON: You said recently, in your old church, "Our national leaders are sending U.S. soldiers on a task that is from God." Are we fighting a holy war?

PALIN: You know, I don't know if that was my exact quote.

GIBSON: Exact words.

PALIN: But the reference there is a repeat of Abraham Lincoln's words when he said -- first, he suggested never presume to know what God's will is, and I would never presume to know God's will or to speak God's words.

But what Abraham Lincoln had said, and that's a repeat in my comments, was let us not pray that God is on our side in a war or any other time, but let us pray that we are on God's side.

That's what that comment was all about, Charlie. And I do believe, though, that this war against extreme Islamic terrorists is the right thing. It's an unfortunate thing, because war is hell and I hate war, and, Charlie, today is the day that I send my first born, my son, my teenage son overseas with his Stryker brigade, 4,000 other wonderful American men and women, to fight for our country, for democracy, for our freedoms.

Charlie, those are freedoms that too many of us just take for granted. I hate war and I want to see war ended. We end war when we see victory, and we do see victory in sight in Iraq.

GIBSON: I take your point about Lincoln's words, but you went on and said, "There is a plan and it is God's plan."

PALIN: I believe that there is a plan for this world and that plan for this world is for good. I believe that there is great hope and great potential for every country to be able to live and be protected with inalienable rights that I believe are God-given, Charlie, and I believe that those are the rights to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

That, in my world view, is a grand -- the grand plan.

GIBSON: But then are you sending your son on a task that is from God?

PALIN: I don't know if the task is from God, Charlie. What I know is that my son has made a decision. I am so proud of his independent and strong decision he has made, what he decided to do and serving for the right reasons and serving something greater than himself and not choosing a real easy path where he could be more comfortable and certainly safer.

3. McCain's tax cuts include everyone. They "favor" the wealthy by giving them a tax cut, too. They also "favor" farmers and small family business owners in the same way.

Re: also....

[ewigweibliche.livejournal.com]

Why aren't you in journalism? Seriously, you are awesome.

Re: also....

[snowcalla.livejournal.com]

*laughs*

I was. I was the producer for an ABC affiliate. I got out when it became standard for stations to no longer have/hire a Fact Checker. You had to run every story through them or it didn't run. They would check each and every fact to make sure it was accurate.

Re: also....

[ewigweibliche.livejournal.com]

*WHAT?*

Stations no longer have fact checkers?? My jaw is agape. Sweet jesus. That is soooooo not ok. How do stations get away with it? I guess no one knows, that's how. I am so glad I don't get my news via tv. I'm not as diligent as you are about cross referencing stuff I read. But I read widely enough, thankfully, that the facts usually will out.

Re: also....

[snowcalla.livejournal.com]

Many papers either no longer have Fact Checkers or just have college interns (not paid) do it.

Re: also....

[ewigweibliche.livejournal.com]

Oh this fares badly for us.

[msmidge.livejournal.com]

From the Savage Love column, I loved "Levi "Shootin' Shit" Johnston."

[snowcalla.livejournal.com]

As the mother of a 17 year old boy...I liked that too.

Although Justin doesn't swear - ever.

[msmidge.livejournal.com]

And on the second one--that was great. Thanks. (And it made me finally look at Religion Dispatches, which is run by my co-advisor!)

[ewigweibliche.livejournal.com]

Mary is your co-advisor?! Neat! I'm on the WATER email list. At AAR last year I was talking with some Mary and some women about helping put in a women's/feminist religion conference separate from AAR. Since I have some experience putting on day long conferences for 200-300 people I was going to help. But I was pregnant and dropped the ball. This year I won't be going to AAR. Hopefully next year.

[msmidge.livejournal.com]

Gary Laderman is who I meant--the editor of the whole site.

I am pretending AAR doesn't exist even though all the jobs I'm going to apply for are doing preliminary interviews there. I don't want to commit to going to AAR if I'm not getting interviewed...I'm over it.