Sep 25, 2008

Love 'em or hate 'em, but these are just funny

Here are some gems from tonight's Late Show with David Letterman:

Tonight's Top Ten from Wasilla, Alaska -- "The Top Ten Things You Didn't Know About Sarah Palin":

  • Once spent a week in the hospital after trying to put lipstick on a pit bull
  • Recently expanded her foreign policy experience by eating at the International House of Pancakes
  • Isn't afraid to go hunting with Dick Cheney

Hee hee hee.

Sep 19, 2008

Miranda has moved!


I'm experimenting with having a separate blog for Miranda and keeping this blog solely for other things. Let's see how it goes.

Anyway, you can visit Miranda's very own blog, Chronicles of Wunchie, by clicking on the sidebar on the right.

Sep 12, 2008

Are you sure that's really a compliment, Governor?

Much ado (over nothing) has been made of Obama's alleged insult to Sarah Palin, and whether he was actually referring to Palin when he said "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig." Never mind that each candidate has used this same expression dozens of times, always referring to issues and agendas. We'll leave that topic for another day.

What's got me more interested, and more concerned, is Palin's description of herself as a "pit bull with lipstick". Sounds rough and tough; sounds like just the thing to strike confidence in the hearts of American citizens, and strike fear in the hearts of foreign terrorists. The problem with this kick-ass analogy is that it fails to probe the exact nature of Governor Palin's proud self-reference.

Billy and I used to live in a neighborhood with at least a dozen pit bulls. Whenever one came down the street, even though most were on a leash, I always made sure I was holding Miranda in my arms.  I didn't want her even remotely within reach should the dog break free.

Pit bulls are, arguably, the most vicious breed of dog. Certainly this is affected by training and environment, but it arises from generations of breeding for aggression. Pit bulls will often attack for no reason and with no provocation, savaging anything within their reach. Children are often victims, with horrifying results. An uncontrolled pit bull doesn't use discretion when it attacks; it doesn't respond to redirection, or commands, or cries of pain, or even punishment. It just savages.

Governor Palin and the rest of the GOP might take pride in this analogy. Certainly, it struck a chord during the convention. But as a pastor and a mother, I'm certain I don't want my daughter (or anyone for whom I care) around any unrestrained pit bulls, canine or otherwise. And our country absolutely cannot afford a potential commander-in-chief who so clearly values aggression over insight.  Because I don't care how much lipstick is on that pit bull -- it won't be enough to hide all the blood on its lips.

Sep 9, 2008

Looks like I need a new apron, a nightgown, and membership in a Ladies' Auxillary

9

As a 1930s wife, I am
Very Poor (Failure)

Take the test!

Oh well, can't be all things to all people.

Sep 1, 2008

Atta Boy, Obama; Atta Boy, McCain

I haven't done a post yet about this year's presidential race; there's so much to process in this inevitably historic year. But in the midst of all the "politics as usual", there are some moments of true graciousness and statesmanship -- on both sides -- that bear highlighting and commendation. Here are two.

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Example #1: When Obama's acceptance of the Democratic nomination fell on the 45th anniversary of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech, McCain aired a TV ad congratulating Obama on this historic moment. Watch it here.

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Example #2: When Gov. Palin announced that her 17 yr old daughter is expecting, Obama adamantly denounced the media's involving families in the campaign tactics, and wasn't afraid to name the similarities between the Palins' situation and his own childhood.

"We don't go after people's families. We don't get them involved in the politics. It's not appropriate and it's not relevant. Our people were not involved in any way in this and they will not be. And if I ever thought there was somebody in my campaign that was involved in something like that, they'd be fired," Obama said.

Obama also said: "This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as a governor or potential performance as a vice president. So I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories."

"You know, my mother had me when she was 18. And how families deal with issues and teenage children - that shouldn't be the topic of our politics," Obama said.

Good on ya', both of you.