Posts
(all photos taken from the web, google search for images)
First of all, I have to say that there are many things I respect about Sarah Palin. Were it not for the fact that she is Dr. Dobson in a skirt and dancing with McCain, she would have my vote. She did, after all, take on (and uproot) the deeply rooted, long-seeded good old boys club in Alaska. This is no small feat. I know. I lived there for nearly two decades.
First of all, I have to say that there are many things I respect about Sarah Palin. Were it not for the fact that she is Dr. Dobson in a skirt and dancing with McCain, she would have my vote. She did, after all, take on (and uproot) the deeply rooted, long-seeded good old boys club in Alaska. This is no small feat. I know. I lived there for nearly two decades.
There is truth in the old adage, "A picture is worth a thousand words” and I promised myself I would simply post these photos and let the reading audience draw their own conclusions. No need for me type 500 words of rhetoric when a quick glance says it all. But, I cannot do it. I can’t help it. I find myself compelled to spit out the words that are itching to escape from my finger tips. So here goes:
I respect Palin in that she is feisty as all get-out. When running for Governor, Mrs. Palin was asked what she would do with the state’s new jet. Her reply? “I will figure out the best way to get rid of it.”
And once elected, that is exactly what she did. I applaud that. I applaud that loudly. Clearly, Palin puts her money where her mouth is and she is seemingly unafraid of pissing people off—even very powerful people. Like the media, for example.
Generally speaking, Palin strikes me as a bold, adventuresome, no-nonsense, take-an-ethical-stand kind of woman. The kind of woman I have tried to be for the better part of my life.
And herein resides the rub, because Palin is all those things and she is unafraid to champion for those causes in which she believes. The problem is: nearly everything Sarah Palin believes in, I do not.
Sarah Palin is most definitely dynamic (in keeping with the website...she is indeed a woman with panache); and I fear that this is precisely what makes her so dangerous.
I have been appalled to see women I know, women I respect, giggly with excitement over her nomination. They relate to her, they say. She is real, I am being told. True, she might be a smart beauty queen, they say, but no need to hold that against her because, in the words of one of my dearest neighbors: “I’ll bet she won’t take shit from anyone… especially her husband.” These women, my neighbors whom I adore, are talking about voting for Sarah Palin for no reason other than she is a woman they could imagine in their home.
I spent the better part of this afternoon with my passion in high gear, informing said neighbors that while Palin's persona might indeed be one they feel at home with, her politics reside in outer space relative to theirs. I know the politics of these women. We live on the same street. We’ve had many a discussion over cold margaritas and roasted marshmallows. They support gay rights, they are pro choice; they are women’s rights activists.
“Do you know that Sarah Palin went on record September 1 as supporting McCain’s opposition of the Fair Pay Restoration Act? Are you aware this means she OPPOSES legislating equal pay for women? That she thinks the 180-day limit for filing complaints in unfair wage disputes is a just time period?”
I was not subtle in my stance.There is a reason that The National Organization of Women does not support Sara Palin as the vice presidential choice.
“But she has a child with Down Syndrome. She’ll be really good for kid’s rights, for special needs and stuff. You have to like that.” This from a friend who knows I have spent the better part of the last twenty-five years championing for the rights of kids with special needs.
Truth is, according to the record, Sarah Palin isn’t all that great of a champion for education (she thinks No Child Left Behind is working); nor for kids with special needs (though I’ve no doubt that as Trig nears pre-school age, she will become one). This, from another blog, summarizes it well:
http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2008/09/where-does-sara.html)
“The Bush Administration in August of 2007 issued a controversial ban on coverage of children in moderate-income families and twice vetoed bills to reauthorize and expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. SCHIP is a popular, bi-partisan program. Sixty-eight Senators, including 18 Republicans, voted for the SCHIP reauthorization bill that President Bush vetoed (Senate vote). John McCain, however, stood with the President. (Emphasis my own) So, along with knowing about Sarah Palin’s personal decision to have a child with Down Syndrome, it also would be good know if she agrees with her candidate’s decision to stand with President Bush against expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.”
And from the same blog:
“Palin did not support a bill this year that would have brought Alaska's coverage of children to 200% of the federal poverty level, as 45 states already have done…. Gov. Palin didn't "expand" health insurance by any means. She merely brought children's Medicaid/SCHIP income eligibility levels to current dollar values. In fact her Health Care Strategies Planning Council wasn't even ready to make recommendations on insurance coverage...what health care strategies did she want them to plan? If Gov. Palin can't support expanding coverage in Alaska, will she support expanding coverage for the nation? "
Fair question. In fact, were Palin to waltz into the White House and stand beside her man (McCain, not Todd); families who fall within a middle income bracket will continue to struggle to get health care for their children with special needs.
This from a woman in Ohio, who has a nine year old daughter with Down syndrome: (http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2008/09/where-does-sara.html
“…our income is several thousand less than 75k per year. As a matter of fact, we were less than $200 away from Medicaid eligibility! …My daughter has no option of private healthcare, since she has a genetic condition. The group plan I was part of when she was born did not want to continue full coverage on her because the medical bills were so extensive. We ARE a working class income family, we both work hard to provide, yet we have NO ACCESS to healthcare for our daughter. Her medical bills would astound you…. (we) pay $100 for 20 min of speech therapy, $22,000 bill for a 6 day hospital stay……”
For this woman, and many other families with children who are medically fragile, the thought of Sarah Palin in the white house—regardless of her newly born child with special needs—is a frightening thought. Only North Dakota ranks lower in its State Children’s Health Insurance Program than Alaska. Considering that Alaska has one of the highest fetal alcohol rates in the country, and that in 2002 it was estimated that the average lifetime cost for a person diagnosed within the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum is about two million dollars, it seems to me that satisfactory health care coverage for children would be a lot more important to take on than say...oh, shooting wolves from airplanes in order to have more moose and caribou to hunt.
Shame on Alaska’s governor. North Dakota’s too.
There are so many more things I could point out (and did point out to my neighbors) that upset me about this woman, but I am appalled to see that I have already spouted off, not 500 words, but nearly 1300. So I shall say no more (though I sure do want to!).
Oh, but before I go, let me just say one more thing. Think critically, please! Make it a point to be informed and to inform your neighbors…though of course, remember to do it with a bit of panache!
Debra, you rock my world! I never thought I would know an actual author of a published book! About Palin...okay, let's go there.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, she did step down from a great job with the State of Alaska because she wouldn't support Gov. Murkowski's corrupt way of doing things. She didn't however, take out the legislators who are now on trial or in prision. That was about Veco and the feds, and unrelated to Sarah Palin.
Gov. Palin has been a good governor overall, but I do not approve of her views regarding animals. Aerial hunting is evil, and I wish the animals were the ones with the guns. She is also trying her utmost to have polar bears removed from the endangered species list, which is ridiculous.
As far as healthcare coverage for children...I assume you are pro-choice, which means that people can make the decision to keep or not to keep a child with a known genetic issue. I do not believe that it is the taxpayers' job to cover medical expenses for children whose parents know they will be born with special needs and choose to keep said children.
I love kids with special needs, but think that if people are going to produce them, they should be ready to care for them in every way. What about funding for senior citizens who have worked hard their whole lives and need assistance in their end days because they don't have the option to work anymore? I think if people in the Lower 48 had a clue about how many people are on public assistance in Alaska, they would be APPALLED. You know I'd give the shirt off my back for someone in need (much to the dismay of the general public), but I have had one too many young people decide to have multiple children with multiple men tell me they would think about coming back to work after they took the summer off with their kids--ON MY DIME AS A TAXPAYER!!! I know people who are going to collect $13,000 between them and their three kids who will still get their living expenses paid for by me because of a "hold harmless" law enacted for the recipients of public assistance. They have bigger TVs, nicer cars, free college opportunities, motorcycles, video games, etc., and no debt! I would LOVE a summer off with all my bills paid and the opportunity for free education instead of $500/month in student loans until I'm 40! But that's just me.
I am not yet sure who I am voting for. My party affiliation has always been undeclared so that I am free to choose whomever I think is best. Both candidates have pros and cons, and I am still trying to sort out which one will sway me their way. I respect your concerns about Sarah Palin, but can't write her off because she has as many good traits as Obama and Biden do...
Passionate, yes....panache.....maybe not...LOL
Hey MJ, Thanks for the response.
ReplyDeleteHey girl, YOU are a published author, what are you talking about??? As I recall that at the tender age of 23 or something, you wote Trial by Fire, an amazing memoir of your growing up years in a troubled family. And it was a darn GOOD book!
Your views here are interesting to me. I would not have expected such PASSION about paying taxes for kids with disabilities,with the idea that if one can't afford them, abort them. Actually, I am shocked hearing that from you!!! Aren't you the girl who has never, ever cut her hair because that is part of the doctorine of your church? (For all you bloggers reading this, MJ is probably one of the most dedicated people to issues having to do with disabilities. Beside voluneerring 10000s of hours as a teacher with kids who have learning challenges, she is also, and has been, president of the Alaska Tourettes Association for a long, long time. And last time I saw her, which was a few years ago, her hair was way past her butt!!)LOL.
I absolutely agree with you in terms of funding for the elderly, but I don't feel quite the same as you do in terms of being a tax payer for individuals who knowingly bring a child with a disability into the world. For one thing, a two working person family with an income of 70,000.00 would not be able to afford medical care for their child and they are paying taxes too! Truth is, the whole system is just really screwed up....boy I could blogon about THAT for hours!!!
Having lived in Alaska for nearly 20 years, I do understand your frustration with the people on welfare who are having multiple children, then neglecting them; yet happily collecting their yearly dividend (of what, now $2000.00 per child or something???); and leaving the burden of raising the child to noone, a neighbor or the local schoolhouse.
As to where I shall cast my vote, you know MJ, when I was still living there I voted the Green Party and was proud that I contributed to it getting its 3% or whatever it was, to become legit on the ballots.
But I have to cast my vote for Obama. The McCain/Palin team really scares me. I'm almost ready to submit a new post on this very topic, so check back and I will tell you why my vote goes to Obama!
Hey thanks for writing. Keep it coming! I think its interesting having an Alaskan perspective on here. Maybe we will get more!!!
Hugs, Debra
ps forward the blogsite to all your favorite friends, teachers, co-workers and elderly citizens. Hey. Forward it to your not-so-favorites!!!! :-)
GLORIA STEINEM's RESPONSE TO THE PALIN PUZZLER:
ReplyDeleteThis was sent to me by another Alaskan and I thought it worth printing on the Blog.
Gloria Steinem: The Sarah Palin pick: Was that sexism?
By GLORIA STEINEM
September 7, 2008
Here's the good news: Women have become so politically powerful that even the antifeminist right wing -- the folks with a headlock on the Republican Party -- are trying to appease the gender gap with a first-ever female vice president. We owe this to women -- and to many men, too -- who have picketed, gone on hunger strikes or confronted violence at the polls so women can vote. We owe it to Shirley Chisholm, who first took the "white-male-only" sign off the White House, and to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who hung in there through ridicule and misogyny to win 18 million votes. But here is even better news: It won't work. This isn't the first time a boss has picked an unqualified woman just because she agrees with him and opposes everything most other women want and need.
Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It's about making life more fair for women everywhere.
Selecting Sarah Palin, who was touted all summer by Rush Limbaugh, is no way to attract most women, including die-hard Clinton supporters. Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Clinton. Her down-home, divisive and deceptive speech did nothing to cosmeticize a Republican convention that has more than twice as many male delegates as female, a presidential candidate who is owned and operated by the right wing and a platform that opposes pretty much everything Clinton's candidacy stood for -- and that Barack Obama's still does.
This is not to beat up on Palin. I defend her right to be wrong, even on issues that matter most to me. I regret that people say she can't do the job because she has children in need of care, especially if they wouldn't say the same about a father. I get no pleasure from imagining her in the spotlight on national and foreign-policy issues about which she has zero background, with one month to learn to compete with Sen. Joe Biden's 37 years' experience.
Palin has been honest about what she doesn't know. When asked last month about the vice presidency, she said, "I still can't answer that question until someone answers for me: What is it exactly that the VP does every day?" When asked about Iraq, she said, "I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq."
She was elected governor largely because the incumbent was unpopular, and she's won over Alaskans mostly by using unprecedented oil wealth to give a $1,200 rebate to every resident. Now she is being praised by McCain's campaign as a tax cutter, despite the fact that Alaska has no state income tax or sales tax. Perhaps McCain has opposed affirmative action for so long that he doesn't know it's about inviting more people to meet standards, not lowering them. Or perhaps McCain is following the Bush administration habit, as in the Justice Department, of putting a job candidate's views on "God, guns and gays" ahead of competence. The difference is that McCain is filling a job one 72-year-old heartbeat away from the presidency.
So let's be clear: The culprit is John McCain. He may have chosen Palin out of change-envy, or a belief that women can't tell the difference between form and content, but the main motive was to please right-wing ideologues; the same ones who nixed anyone who is now or ever has been a supporter of reproductive freedom. If that were not the case, McCain could have chosen a woman who knows what a vice president does and who has thought about Iraq; someone like Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison or Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine. He could have taken a baby step away from right-wing patriarchs who determine his actions.
Palin's value to those patriarchs is clear: She opposes just about every issue that women support by a majority or plurality. She believes that creationism should be taught in public schools but disbelieves global warming; she opposes gun control but supports government control of women's wombs; she opposes stem cell research but approves "abstinence-only" programs, which increase unwanted births, sexually transmitted diseases and abortions; she tried to use taxpayers' millions for a state program to shoot wolves from the air but didn't spend enough money to fix a state school system with the lowest high-school graduation rate in the nation. She is Phyllis Schlafly, only younger.
I don't doubt her sincerity. As a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, she doesn't just support killing animals from helicopters, she does it herself. She doesn't just echo McCain's pledge to criminalize abortion by overturning Roe vs. Wade, she says that if one of her daughters were impregnated by rape or incest, she should bear the child.
So far, the major new McCain supporter that Palin has attracted is James Dobson of Focus on the Family. Of course, for Dobson, "women are merely waiting for their husbands to assume leadership," so he may be voting for Palin's husband.
Being a hope-a-holic, however, I can see two long-term bipartisan gains from this contest.
Republicans may learn they can't appeal to right-wing patriarchs and most women at the same time. A loss in November could cause the centrist majority of Republicans to take back their party, which was the first to support the Equal Rights Amendment and should be the last to want to invite government into the wombs of women.
And American women, who suffer more because of having two full-time jobs than from any other single injustice, finally have support on a national stage from male leaders who know that women can't be equal outside the home until men are equal in it. Barack Obama and Joe Biden are campaigning on their belief that men should be, can be and want to be at home for their children.
This could be huge.
this too came to me via an email, with the request to post it on my blog.
ReplyDeletePlease add this to your blog!
Regards, Meg
IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT OR WHO YOU VOTE FOR.....JUST DO IT!!
Subject: FW: WHY WOMEN SHOULD VOTE
WHY WOMEN SHOULD VOTE
This is the story of our Grandmothers and Great-grandmothers; they lived
only 90 years ago.
Remember, it was not until 1920
that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote.
The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed
nonetheless for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking
for the vote.
And by the end of the night, they were barely alive.
Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing
went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of
'obstructing sidewalk traffic.'
(Lucy Burns)
They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above
her head and left her hanging fo! r the ni ght, bleeding and gasping
for air.
(Dora Lewis)
They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her
head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate,
Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack.
Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging,
beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women.
Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917,
when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his
guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because
they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right
to vote.
For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their
food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms.
(Alice Paul)
When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied
her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her
until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks
until word was smuggled out to the press.
So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because-
-why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work?
Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining?
Last week, I went to a sparsely attended screening of HBO's new
movie 'Iron Jawed Angels.' It is a graphic depiction of the battle
these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling
booth and have my say. I am ashamed to say I needed the reminder.
All these years later, voter registration is still my passion. But the
actual act of voting had become less personal for me, more rote.
Frankly, voting often felt more like an obligation than a privilege.
Sometimes it was inconvenient.
My friend Wendy, who is my age and studied women's history,
saw the HBO movie, too. When she stopped by my desk to talk
about it, she looked angry. She was--with herself. 'One thought
kept coming back to me as I watched that movie,' she said.
'What would those women think of the way I use, or don't use,
my right to vote? All of us take it for granted now, not just
younger women, but those of us who did seek to learn.' The
right to vote, she said, had become valuable to her 'all over again.'
HBO released the movie on video and DVD . I wish all history,
social studies and government teachers would include the movie in
their curriculum I want it shown on Bunco night, too, and anywhere
else women gather. I realize this isn't our usual idea of socializing,
but we are not voting in the numbers that we should be, and I think
a little shock therapy is in order.
It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a
psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently
institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice
Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy.
The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for
insanity.'
Please, if you are so inclined, pass this on to all the women you know.
We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so
hard for by these very courageous women. Whether you vote democratic,
republican or independent party - remember to vote.
History is being made.
Thanks for the comments, Meg. I certainly would be very interested in seeing the film. I, like many, do need these reminders of just how much women sacrificed in order that we have a basic right automatically afforded to those individuals who need not squat to pee. :-)
ReplyDeleteAlthough not this year. I mean, I don't need the reminder this year. I feel like my vote is so important, not just for the numbers game, but because I feel compelled to use my voice and responsibly represent my personal politics. I truly am frightened by the prospect of McCain/Palin in the big house. See my blog post a little later today.
Debra
ps Pass along this blogsite to other women and to people who know (and may or may not like!). Lets get more dialogue going on this. It certainly does stimulate people's passionate responses!!
As a follow-up, I totally agree that our healthcare system is in shambles. It is an absolute shame that people who work hard cannot afford care for themselves or any children they have, despite their level of care. I just wanted to point out that there are options to consider on all sides. I see so many third or fourth generation welfare cases that ignore the needs of their children to pursue their own wants, and it makes me sick.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, I don't mind helping someone who needs a hand up, but I do mind the attitude that the world owes someone a living or that they are entitled to live for free.
Yes I wrote Tried By Fire when I was 19 (and in a college class taught by you!), but it wasn't officially published by anyone but me...you are playing in the big leagues and I wish I could be there to give you a HUGE hug of congratulations!!!
My hair...you crack me up! It is still long and uncut (since I was 13 and started going to my church). In all fairness, though, that decision is based on scripture I read for myself, not anyone forcing me to run the other way when I see a pair of scissors...LOL Just giving you a hard time!!! Our church has republicans, democrats and everyone else, and believe it or not, we all get along (and yes, we even discuss politics and rib each other...lol).
The PFD this year will be $2069, and on top of that, Palin and the legislature approved a one-time $1200 handout for energy assistance...so we are receiving a total of $3269 each. I am using mine to pay bills (and I am sure many others are, too), but how many people living off the system even have to worry about that? You wouldn't believe some of the plans I have heard from some of them. They seem to think that "energy assistance" means they're getting a boost to use more energy walking around at Best Buy!
Sorry to be so loudmouthed, but it really infuriates me when I see veterans who can't afford dentures to eat with, and when I hear stories of how hard the people who built this country and this state worked, and then I see some in my generation choosing to do the opposite. They are constantly rewarded for bad choices and behavior, and I almost think it would be better for other people to raise their kids in hopes of breaking the cycle. The kids probably wouldn't be any more traumatized being removed from them as they are by living with them.
To all of the hard-working, socially responsible, contributing members of our population who have family members who are vulnerable, frail, or disabled, I support your efforts and completely understand that our system is royally messed up, and it's not in your favor...and I don't mind helping you in any way.