Sarah Palin

Well I haven't written a blog entry in quite some time. Since I have no regular readers and I've had other things keeping me busy this isn't much of a problem. But with election season getting a boost from the conventions and the VP selections I have to weigh in on what I've found out so far about Gov. Palin from Alaska who is now on McCain's ticket.

Adding her to the ticket certainly doesn't change my vote. Looks like I'll still be flipping the switch for Obama. Don't get me wrong. The way the Democrats have been pandering to the religious and purposely excluding secularists pisses me off. However, when I look across all the issues that concern me and this country Obama comes out over McCain and certainly over Palin. Before I list several reasons that she's a terrible choice for a VP I'll say this. 

"If she was running on her own for the office of president with her current level of experience would you even 'consider' casting a vote for her?"

I've asked myself this question of Joe Biden and I can say I would. He has many years of experience in Congress. While I don't agree with all of his votes, I can look at his record and for the most part I agree with many of his decisions. There is no way in hell I would ever consider electing this woman president on her own merits.

So what are all these problems I have with her?

• Apparently she considers drilling for oil a much higher priority than protecting the polar bear. This is despite the fact that experts in the energy industry agree that drilling for oil in Alaska isn't going to help us a damn bit and wildlife experts and climatoligists agree that climate change is seriously threatening this animal. This story also demonstrates that she is scientifically illiterate considering she's among those who still think climate change is just some kooky theory.
• I don't know the whole story here but I would really like her to explain some of this. Joel's Army are some scaring fucking idiots who have no place in civilized society and it looks like her church has links to these dominionist groups. Maybe it's overblown but I'd like to hear the explanation or her completely denounce them.
• This is a huge fucking deal breaker for me. She thinks creationism should be allowed to be taught along side evolution in school science classes. I'm sorry but I have zero tolerance for this kind of outright ignorance. As important as the education of children and science is to the future success of our country I do not understand how 'patriotic' Americans can abide this. Well I know why...it's because they're ignorant (willfully or otherwise) of the facts.
• She thinks religious leaders (who don't pay taxes) should be allowed to endorse political candidates. If they want to start paying taxes and not receive special assistance from the government then I agree that they can endorse a candidate. But that isn't the case. This is a clear violation of the establishment clause and while I hold free speech to be one of our most sacred (no I don't have a problem using that word in this case) rights, it does not extend to violating someone else's right or violating the Constitution.
• She opposes reproductive freedom for women and wants to ban abortion even in cases of rape and incest. I think we can all agree that it would be a good thing to reduce the number of abortions by reducing unwanted pregnancies but this idea of a blastocyst or fetus having the same or greater rights than a living contributing member of society is foolish. There is clearly a line where a developing fetus should be granted human rights but it isn't at conception. I'm sorry but it just runs contrary to the medical facts regarding human development. Daylight Atheism does a fairly good job of parsing out some of these problems.
• She supported the "bridge to nowhere." Supporters love to pull out this gem and claim that she actually opposed the bridge to nowhere and thereby demonstrated that she wouldn't put up with wasteful spending. The truth is that while she eventually did redirect funds she originally had no problem with these bridge and passively supported them until it was clear that the rest of the country and Congress wasn't having of this shit.

If these reasons weren't enough not to support her then consider McCain's age and health. While Senator McCain may be okay now he is in his 70's and his health record is not the greatest. As some point the body just can't handle certain stresses. And make no mistake this is one of the most demanding jobs a person could get. The risk that a VP may have to take over the presidency with McCain in office is certainly higher than it would be with a younger healthier man or woman.

I know that she isn't McCain but selecting her reflects on him. And the fact that he or his staff or the GOP would consider her a good choice blows my mind.