Just read Maureen Dowd’s op/ed piece. Hilarious! This time she stood on the side of women for womens’ sake. Now, I recently stopped reading Maureen because she kind of started to remind me of, oh man, I can’t remember her name, help me out here…she’s a total right winter, married to that James Carvell person who looks like ETs Dad and is wicked southern…anyway, I was surprised to see the trajectory of her piece. Pu the Equal Rights Amendment into law. For 40 years I’ve said, “this country will have a black man as president way before a woman”. Our society is massively sexist. Aaaarghhh! I could go on. But it’s bedtime. Peace out.

Elaine… Did you realize that your responses are automatically disqualified because you are wayyyyyyyyyyyy too pretty! LOL :D

Why would McCain pick a woman who is raising her daughters baby as her own? http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/30/121350/137/486/580223

You are some evil babes! You’re pushing her down instead giving her a chance to fall down on her own. I was considering Hillary now I’m throwing my support behind Cynthia McKinney of the Green Party. Obama is like Tony Robbins a dynamic speaker but he hasn’t sold me otherwise. Maybe because I’ve grown jaded on mack daddies. Obama won the Illinois senate seat by default. Although Obama is well-educated, hasn’t accomplished much as a senator. Eons ago, Barbara Procter who started her own marketing firm in Chicago received the business award of the year. As reported in the Chicago Trib, in her address she referred to the black business men in Chicago as mister kick. Because they didn’t reach out to help her instead they kicked to keep her down. Is that what we’re doing to Governor Palin? I have worked with some very young enterprising women who had vision, skills and support of their colleagues to be in upper management but weren’t a part of the the good ole girls club… but those that were well-connected were allow to rise to their highest level of incompetency! In fairness to all, neither Obama or Governor Palin have foreign affairs experience. No one has nominated Biden to become president but we know the real deal. Cheney was running the Bush Administration and if elected Biden will be running stuff, too. And ivy league educations are overrated…folks from so-called third rated schools don’t get the chance to run Enron…WorldCom …General Motors, IndyMac, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and a bunch of others into the ground!

I think that in making an educated decision you must keep your emotions in check and avoid immediately judging someone until you really have a chance to get to know them regardless of race, looks, political afiliation, class, education and experience. How about getting to know Sarah Palin before putting labels on her. What I have seen in this woman so far is a courage, strength, leadership, moral conviction, passion, and a willingness to change the status quo. If you didn’t have a chance to see her acceptance speech, here it is. Governor Sarah Palin: “And I thank you, Senator McCain and Mrs. McCain, for the confidence that you have placed in me. Senator, I am honored to be chosen as your running mate. I will be honored to serve next to the next president of the United States. “I know that when Senator McCain gave me this opportunity, he had a short list of highly qualified men and women, and to have made that list at all — it was a privilege. And to have been chosen brings a great challenge. I know that it will demand the best that I have to give, and I promise nothing less. “First, there are a few people whom I would like you to meet. I want to start with my husband, Todd. And Todd and I are actually celebrating our 20th anniversary today, and I promised him a little surprise for the anniversary present, and hopefully he knows that I did deliver. “And then we have as — after my husband, who is a lifelong commercial fisherman, lifetime Alaskan — he’s a production operator. Todd is a production operator in the oil fields up on Alaska’s North Slope, and he’s a proud member of the United Steelworkers Union, and he’s a world champion snow machine racer. Todd and I met way back in high school, and I can tell you that he is still the man that I admire most in this world. “Along the way, Todd and I have shared many blessings, and four out of five of them are here with us today. Our oldest son, Track, though, he’ll be following the presidential campaign from afar. On September 11th of last year, our son enlisted in the United States Army. Track now serves in an infantry brigade. And on September 11th, Track will deploy to Iraq in the service of his country. And Todd and I are so proud of him and of all the fine men and women serving the country in uniform. “Next to Todd is our daughter Bristol; another daughter, Willow; our youngest daughter, Piper; and over in their arms is our son Trig, a beautiful baby boy. He was born just in April. His name is Trig Paxson Van Palin. “Some of life’s greatest opportunities come unexpectedly, and this is certainly the case today. I never really set out to be involved in public affairs, much less to run for this office. My mom and dad both worked at the local elementary school. And my husband and I, we both grew up working with our hands. “I was just your average ‘hockey mom’ in Alaska. We were busy raising our kids. I was serving as the team mom and coaching some basketball on the side. I got involved in the PTA and then was elected to the city council and then elected mayor of my hometown, where my agenda was to stop wasteful spending and cut property taxes and put the people first. “I was then appointed ethics commissioner and chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, and when I found corruption there, I fought it hard and I held the offenders to account. Along with fellow reformers in the great state of Alaska, as governor, I’ve stood up to the old politics as usual, to the special interests, to the lobbyists, the Big Oil companies and the ‘good old boy’ network. “When oil and gas prices went up so dramatically and the state revenues followed with that increase, I sent a large share of that revenue directly back to the people of Alaska — and we are now — we’re now embarking on a $40 billion natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence. “I signed major ethics reforms, and I appointed both Democrats and independents to serve in my administration. And I’ve championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. In fact, I told Congress thanks, but no thanks, on that “Bridge to Nowhere.” If our state wanted a bridge, I said, we’d build it ourselves. “Well, it’s always, though, safer in politics to avoid risk, to just kind of go along with the status quo. But I didn’t get into government to do the safe and easy things. A ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not why the ship is built. Politics isn’t just a game of competing interests and clashing parties. The people of America expect us to seek public office and to serve for the right reasons. And the right reason is to challenge the status quo and to serve the common good. “Now, no one expects us to agree on everything, whether in Juneau or in Washington. But we are expected to govern with integrity and good will and clear convictions and a servant’s heart. “Now, no leader in America has shown these qualities so clearly or presents so clear a threat to business as usual in Washington as Senator John S. McCain. This — this is a moment when principles and political independence matter a lot more than just the party line. And this is a man who has always been there to serve his country, not just his party. “And this is a moment that requires resolve and toughness and strength of heart in the American president. And my running mate is a man who has shown those qualities in the darkest of places and in the service of his country. A colleague once said about Senator McCain: That man did things for this country that few people could go through; never forget that. And that speaker was former Senator John Glenn of Ohio. And John Glenn knows something about heroism. “And I’m going to make sure nobody does forget that in his campaign. There is only one candidate who has truly fought for America, and that man is John McCain. “This is a moment — this is a moment when great causes can be won and great threats overcome, depending on the judgment of our next president. In a dangerous world, it is John McCain who will lead America’s friends and allies in preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. “It was John McCain who cautioned long ago about the harm that Russian aggression could do to Georgia and to other small Democratic neighbors and to the world oil markets. “It was Senator McCain who refused to hedge his support for our troops in Iraq, regardless of the political costs. And you know what? As the mother of one of those troops and as the commander of Alaska’s National Guard, that’s the kind of man I want as our commander in chief. “Profiles in courage, they can be hard to come by these days. You know, so often we just find them in books. But next week when we nominate John McCain for president, we’re putting one on the ballot! “To serve as vice president beside such a man would be the privilege of a lifetime, and it’s fitting that this trust has been given to me 88 years almost to the day after the women of America first gained the right to vote. “I think as well today of two other women who came before me in national elections. I can’t begin this great effort without honoring the achievements of Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, and, of course, Senator Hillary Clinton, who showed such determination and grace in her presidential campaign. “It was rightly noted in Denver this week that Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America. But it turns out the women of America aren’t finished yet, and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all. “So for my part, the mission is clear. The next 67 days I’m going to take our campaign to every part of our country and our message of reform to every voter of every background, in every political party, or no party at all. If you want change in Washington, if you hope for a better America, then we’re asking for your vote on the 4th of November. “My fellow Americans, come join our cause. Join our cause and help our country to elect a great man the next president of the United States. And I thank you, and I — God bless you, I say, and God bless America. Thank you.”

I just read a post that was making up stories about Sarah’s infant. I hope we can all agree to keep this discussion out of the soap opera realm. It diminishes us. Even though some of us feel like we’ve been in a bad movie for the last 8 years, we must resist the temptation to overreact & make up tales about Sarah. Her platform speaks for itself. If you agree with Obama that no one needs AK47’s on the street, then Sarah’s not your girl. If you agree with Obama that we are not going to all agree on abortion, but that sex education & birth control should be available to women who don’t want to get pregnant, then Sarah’s not your girl. If you agree with Obama that killing off different species of animals in the name of progress & economics is acceptable, then Sarah’s not your girl. Let’s stay on point, & let’s stay true.

I wouldn’t vote for McCain no matter who he chose as a running mate! To paraphrase Katha Pollitt (“The Nation”), McCain must think women voters have the collective IQ of a Tampax.

I was not a Hillary supporter, but was for Obama from the start. Saw a KQED thingi on Alexander Hamillton — for one thing, what a guy, but also, he and his character sure sounded a lot like Barack Obama. I did not realize how much Hamilton did to shape our nation. Thanx Alexander. I’m for Obama largely because I think he is an exceptional person, probably one of those people who are born to be great and will perform greatly as our president. God help us if we don’t elect him. If we don’t, then we deserve every slucky decline we get, but let me get back to the positive. I see Barack has a person capable of going to the right people for the right information he needs on home and abroad issues. He’s not afraid to hear another point of view, especially if the point-of-viewer better knows the issue than he.. I think he is a guy who knows what he knows and knows what he doesn’t know or who might know an issue better. AND, he will go there. He showed a sensible balance to his thinking in his acceptance speech, going down the list of issues such as abortion, saying, we may not be able to agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on decreasing the number of unwanted pregnancies. Said a similar thing about guns. I am thrilled to have the Obamas. They will make a great first family. PLEASE MR. & MRS. AMERICA, vote them in. One other point, I am impressed that Obama did not stay away from selecting another strong, intelligent person like Joe Biden as his running mate. Most presidential candidates shy away from selecting someone as strong or stronger than they are. Obama showed his mettle to me in that he did not shy away from such a person, but chose a humdinger, just like he is. . I am as thrilled with Biden as I am Obama. In fact, my first choice for prez was Biden, but seems most American don’t have enough sense to elect someone like that. Great leadership for our limping, almost crippled nation. GO BARACK, GO JOE! YEAH TEAM! And God help America in our vote.

hi, when i looked at the video of john mc announcing sarah palin he kept touching his wedding band. did anyone notice this? also i would feel very uneasy with a potential president only having a bachelor’s degree. dirah63