Do you feel the media is giving a fair portrayal of Sarah Palin?

No.  They don't know what to think of her.  She's a strong, independent, savvy, reform minded woman that has achieved political success...all without buying into the NOW and feminist claptrap.  She's got a large, happy family that is subject to the same trials and joys of most American families. 

She's a threat to the established authority on women's issues, because she has rejected the negative and adversarial notions promulgated by those authorities. 

Oh yeah, and she doesn't believe in abortion except to save the life of the mother.  Horrors! 

The media can't understand why someone they've never taken the time to understand could mean so much to regular folks.  They don't get it, and it showed after her speech.  Andrea Mitchell's crestfallen face was priceless.  Keith Olbermann's shellshocked countenance was a refreshing change from his usual bluster.  There was no thrill going up Chris Matthews' leg.

Especially satisfying, you see, because of the way these people seized upon baseless rumors borne in the deepest pits of the Daily Kos.  Gross, undignified rumors of infidelity, scandal and corruption.  Contrast this with the verifiable evidence of John Edwards' adultery and its laughable coverage.

No, they saw a chance to strike a blow at someone who would really shake things up.  But they couldn't attack her directly, so they assaulted her teenage daughter.  They assaulted her newest son.  They offended me, and quite a few of the moderates I speak with.

But she said it best...she's not going to Washington to seek their good opinion.  She's got work to do. 

Would that the news could devote themselves to truly objective reporting on the very real questions that, I readily admit, need to be asked of McCain's VP choice.  Would that they could even try... 

And I offer my thoughts upon it. 

Well, Cindy first.  She needs some practice with the teleprompter.  She'll have plenty of it, I'm sure.  She's a good wife, though.  And here's the negative part of my brain, but if I were Team McCain I'd only talk about marriage very briefly.  Unfortunate end to the first one and all.  But to McCain's credit, he publicly lists that failure as his greatest.

Nobody can accuse McCain of not having a personal stake in the ongoing conflict.  And Cindy is a proud mother to all her children.

Bridget McCain is a testament to John and Cindy's pro-life views.  McCain is from the old school, though, and doesn't make loud proclamations about his religious beliefs.  So, it would be easy to ignore the very compelling story of Bridget.  Easy and stupid.

I hope McCain can keep this crowd energized.

****

Here he comes. 

The video is good so far.  McCain's mom...funny.

Yes, this video is making its point.

Darkness.  A light, and he is here.  The convention stage is set up in town hall format, allowing him to be more comfortable with this very big speech.

Crowd is enthused.  I think they are ready for a real humdinger of a speech.

You can't let the crowd have its way with you. 

Damn camera keeps going to the protester up in the balcony.  Whatever, bro.  You look like Ed Norton from American History X.

"Much more unites us than divides us"...that's hard to keep in mind sometimes.  I hear genuine emotion coming from him.

Fracking Code Pinkers.  Good on you, McCain.  Play 'em off.

McCain really takes corruption personally.  Hopefully he'll run out of Veto ink and have to spend $1.50 of our tax money on a new Veto pen.  I'd gladly allow that gov't expenditure.

I remember when I wrote John McCain off in the primaries.  I'm not as smart as I thought. 

John McCain's message on domestic issues hasn't been really addressed this week, until now.  He needs to stick with this theme.

"Culture of Life" wot wot!

He needs to talk more about his health insurance plans.  Specifics will come, hopefully soon.

Education:  Big issue.  Help bad teachers find another line of work!  Word up.

Gotta stop making Russian billionaires and Middle Eastern Sultans.

DRILL BABY DRILL!

We need to use nuclear power.  It's safe, it's clean, and it's efficient.  Let's use all the tools at our disposal to help ourselves.

On to Russia...Call them out, McCain. 

Wise to not keep Obama at the forefront, but to mention him.  This is about McCain, but it's about how he's more suited than Obama.

I can't imagine this man's experience in Vietnam.  I can only admire it. 

He is right on about service.  Humanity needs a cause bigger than itself to serve, individuals need a cause.

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT.  We make history.  Damn right.  Hell to the yes. 

Aw sh%t.  Not that Raising McCain song again.  Who thought that was a good idea?

Ok, but that's ok.  Here comes Sarah Palin and some instrumental music.  And confetti!!  Whee!

They're playing Barracuda.  Nice.

So overall, this was a positive speech.  I think it did a lot to solidify his positions, and it's got me feeling assured that we'll make a good go of it in the next two months. 

One of those emails that make you giggle:

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!

JOHN MC CAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right from Day One! that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE: I invented the chicken.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.

JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth? That's why they call it the other side. Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay, too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like the other side. That chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as simple as that.

GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken 2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken 2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never crash or need to be rebooted.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

Sorry!

Sorry more American politics, but this time from the family perspective.

Albert Mohler posted a blog entry way back in May 6, 2008, entitled "Welcome to the World, Trig Paxson Van Palin" about Governor Sarah Palin's pregnancy and the birth of her son with Down's Syndrome. I urge you to go read it and the AP article to which it links.

She loves her baby boy and is proud of him. "I'm looking at him right now, and I see perfection," Palin told the Associated Press. "Yeah, he has an extra chromosome. I keep thinking, in our world, what is normal and what is perfect?"

Trig Paxson Van Palin has an extra chromosome, two proud and loving parents, four very happy siblings, and he will bring his own joy to untold numbers of lives.

He will face some unique challenges, but he has a loving family who will face those with him. They will learn together the wonder and beauty of a Down syndrome child and will learn to see the glory of God in his trusting face.

Mothers Day 2008 is certain to be a special day in the Alaska Governor's Mansion. What an unspeakable tragedy that so many other homes will have aborted that joy.

Hat tip to Chris for the link.

Take a look at the graphs below (from the Washington Post), and look past the obvious Republican vs Democrat arguments:

Obama and McCain Tax Proposals

According to a new analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are both proposing tax plans that would result in cuts for most American families. Obama's plan gives the biggest cuts to those who make the least, while McCain would give the largest cuts to the very wealthy. For the approximately 147,000 families that make up the top 0.1 percent of the income scale, the difference between the two plans is stark. While McCain offers a $269,364 tax cut, Obama would raise their taxes, on average, by $701,885 - a difference of nearly $1 million.

If one of the political parties in the UK were to present tax cut plans to us, quoting 2% vs 0.3% which one would you vote for?  Now look at the way the cuts are spread over the income bands, now tell me which one looks the fairest to you?  Which one actually supports the average family and those that need the money most?

I know Philippa would argue, from her tax experience, that such a large tax rise for high earners would have a detrimental impact on investment into this country, particularly within the financial sector.  However, I can't help but see this kind of adjustment of the tax regime as being just what the UK needs right now...

Thoughts on Palin:
I'm geeking out.  Oh so geeky right now.  This is a test for her.

She sounds polished.  Her voice has a slight cadence to it that is refreshing. 

She's got a great face.  I mean, duh, but it's also very expressive and conveys her scrappiness.

Women in the audience are enraptured.

The whole family is good looking.  Wowsers. 

Is this how Obama supporters feel?

Little daughter is adorable. 

Good ol' Trig is conked the heck out. 

Pro life!  Wot wot.

Her husband is a man's man.  I'd love to see some articles about him. 

She has long hair.  Most female pols do not.

"Always proud of America!" 

DAUGHTER IS ADORABLE.  Licking her hand to smooth Trig's hair.

Community organizers...feh.

Hit em hard, Governor.

Right on.  She's not in it for positive press.  Make it clear.

One thing:  The crowd is enthusiastic, perhaps a bit overwhelming.  But she's handling it.

Common sense conservatism.  That's what gets people motivated. 

She's making it clear that she has done things, actually done things.  Obama, bless him, seems a trifling sort of guy right now.

Energy is one of her main strengths, I think.  Drill baby drill, indeed.

Another strength:  pointing out Obama's foibles.  Hot damn, she's a winner.  Bravo, McCain, for having the courage to tap this remarkable woman.

Talking about taxes, it was important for her to bring up her sister's small business.  It shows that she knows how "regular people" will be affected by tax increases under Obama.

I just absolutely love the way she talks.  She doesn't have that news anchor voice we're all starting to get.

She's hitting HARD.  HARD.

"Only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you."

It's over now.  Here comes the family!  She mouthed the words, "My baby" when she picked up Trig. 

Here's McCain. 

People!  The Palin rumors started deep in the bowels of the Daily Kos.  They are not true.

The New York Times, which hasn't bothered to ask Obama about his ties to Bill Ayers, nor thought it worth investigating John Edwards and his maybe-baby, apparently thought an obscure blogger on an ultra-lefty site had some primo info on a 17-year old girl and a Down's Syndrome baby.  Worthy political tools to strike at a Republican woman.

1.  Sarah Palin has been a registered Republican since 1982.

2.  Sarah Palin carried and gave birth to her son Trig, who has Down's Syndrome.

3.  Bristol Palin is 17 and pregnant, and she and her boyfriend had planned to marry before her mistake was broadcast nationally.

4.  Even Barack Obama said to lay off.  So listen to your Messiah.

Can we just take a step back from the partisanship and recognize that this sort of thing is not journalism?

Barack Obama, for all his many faults, has a touch of gentility about him that all men should possess.  When his wife was under fire for public commentary on her newly discovered pride in America, he did what any husband should want to do.  He told her detractors to lay off.  It was charming, but misguided. 

Sarah Palin, for all her status as a positive role model for women, has recently had her daughter's pregnancy brought very suddenly into the limelight.  This would have been revealed soon, for sure.  The girl's already five months along.  Had the campaign been given time to make the announcement in their own way, it might have been handled with more grace.  But keep in mind we only found out about Gov. Palin on Friday! 

Now Obama, in keeping with his earlier thoughts on the matter of family members being under scrutiny, has come out against the lefty bloggers and Keith Olbermann-types in the media who have begun the "disgusting" practice of attacking Palin for her daughter's mistakes.  This is a rare bit of consistency on Obama's part, and such traits should be encouraged.

However, my thinking on the matter runs along these lines:  Whereas Bristol Palin's pregnancy is not suitable for public critique, nor does it color her mother's credentials, Michelle Obama's public statements were and are still fair game.  The difference is the circumstance of the events.

Michelle Obama made her speeches in public support of her husband.  She was, for a few months, a co-campaigner.  We may forget the role she played early on, because she has been effectively reined in.  She's a smart woman and probably realized that her comments were giving Barack's opponents much needed traction against him.  Most likely she reined herself in.  Because of the public nature of her comments, though, his exhortations to leave the families alone didn't come across as well as the one he is currently making on Bristol Palin's behalf.

Bristol Palin is seventeen, has not made a public speech of which I am aware, and has not been used to showcase her mother's family values.  The difference between the two is clear.  Aside from all that, don't you think that Gov. Palin's family situation is an all too common one in America these days?  The measure of being pro-life, as she is, is how open you are to life's developments...from an unexpected birth or a birth defect to a perfectly planned, healthy addition to the family.  Life happens, folks, and you shouldn't stand in the way. 

Sarah Palin knows that when mistakes are made, you rally around your loved ones and you deal with whatever comes along.  You move forward.  I think that's one thing many Americans, Democrat and Republican, can understand.   

London looks great, from the air, at night ;-)

29th August 2008

29 August 2008 005

This is the toad lily (trycrtis) in our garden and it is just coming into flower. It is unusual and difficult to find in this country. But it is very beautiful.