Date: 2008-09-03 16:49 Subject: Going through political withdrawal Security: Public Location: st paul Mood: sleepy Tags: fiorina, politics, sexism, x-men

( More political whining by yours truly. Skip if uninterested. )

Lest this turn into a political blog, I finished my X-Men Lance/Kitty fic, finally, and I'll start editing it coming up here. Besides that, not too much is going on. Looking forward to House, whenever it starts. Hope it hasn't already.

Date: 2008-09-02 16:32 Subject: My friends... *McCain voice* Security: Public Mood: cold Tags: fiorina, palin, politics, sexism

Life is good. The Lucifer Effect is fascinating. The Palin controversy (the trooper story, daughter's pregnancy, links to secessionist party) is at times amusing and at times worrisome. While I think for a party steeped in "values" the pregnancy certainly seems to be a blow against that image - a potential hypocrisy, considering Palin's defense and support of abstinence education - I think Obama has set a nice example for everyone by taking the high road, as I expect McCain would do in a similar situation, and I'm going to follow that example, especially considering my own family history. I may not like the GOP, but I respect both the candidates in this election and I'm glad for the most part they seem to be respectful (relatively speaking). The trooper incident is intriguing but it'll take a while before we know more about that, so I'm not going to waste too much time on it. The secessionist party issue is very worrisome, but again, I want to see more on this.

Something that REALLY irritated me:

In which Fiorina accuses Dems of sexism.

This charge really aggravated me. Senator Obama questioned Palin's ability to manage and lead; NOWHERE did he reference her sex or make a derogatory comment on her capabilities as a woman. NOWHERE. The GOP has questioned Obama's experience and ability to lead: is that racist? No, it's simple politics. And then Biden's remark about Palin being prettier than him - it's a harmless joke. "Harmless" jokes can become dangerous, yes, but this wasn't. It was a light-hearted comment and no malice was intended.

Stop comparing Governor Palin and Senator Clinton. They are nothing alike. I believe Clinton did suffer from sexism in her campaign - as I believe Obama has occasionally suffered from latent racism - but this is nothing like that. Senator Clinton is qualified to lead this country. Governor Palin is not. Crying "wolf" like this is only trivializing this issue, something that we cannot afford at this critical juncture, in my (apparently not very) humble opinion. By making this just another issue you're playing to the prejudices of a historically sexist society. Stop it and focus on the issues. We can't afford such irresponsibility from a woman many see as a leader.

Date: 2008-08-29 22:54 Subject: The first week of school (is aPALIN!!!!) Security: Public Location: dayton Mood: chipper Tags: politics, school

I am such a nerd. *erases subject line*

Nothing too exciting going on. I've been pretty busy this week, obviously, reading and doing homework and geeking out on CNN coverage of the Democratic convention. Watched Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama's speech (not to mention Jesse Jackson, Jr, who impressed me).

The McCain choice of Palin is really bizarre, especially considering he's only talked to her once before. But it's a risky move - it could pay off and help him swing the election, but I really don't think it will. In fact, I think it's a pretty terrible move. He's not going to get enough Hillary voters to make it count (a lot of them, in fact, seem to be offended at his implication that they just wanted a woman), and the Obama campaign is absolutely going to skewer this woman after McCain's spent the entire campaign discrediting Obama for "lack of experience." I think a lot of voters will be scared that a first-term governor of one of the two "satellite" states who two years ago was the mayor of a town of 9,000... might be a heartbeat away from the presidency (with McCain's age, that risk only increases). While the VP debates may be ridiculously scripted, as they seem to be on occasion, I still think Biden will skewer her. McCain took his maverick reputation and put it on the line: he's risking becoming, as Bob Casey put it, a "sidekick." I think, ultimately, this move just handed the election to Obama for sure, but I thought McCain was going to lose anyways, and perhaps this speaks to his desperation. But I could be wrong. We'll see.