Sam Harris' LA Times op-ed on Sarah Palin

[Mister Emu]

I didn't say "as much" Obama has more, slightly, experience than Palin...

unlike Palin who doesn't even know what the VP does....

Beyond becoming President upon death/resignation/medical impairment etc. and be the presiding officer of the senate, to vote in a 50-50 split, everything else is decided between the President and VP informally...

 

[Charity]

But the church reflects their personal convictions, which can influence how they perform in office. The church could even pull their strings.

And in my humble opinion, what differentiates a religion from a cult is only the size of membership.

No what makes a religion a cult is the deviation from what most Christians would consider the normal or fundamental belief. AOG are fundamentalist....

 

[UnityNow101]

Ewww. I live in a Republican household and I just yelled at my mother because she said she is absolutely voting for McCain. They have the RNC blaring right now in the living room AND kitchen and I've gagged twice..... blech.

It is the same way here, so don't feel bad. I feel that I have to defend myself and my positions but it is actually just a waste of breath and energy. I bet that this whole McCain vs. Obama campaign is going to cause many household civil "wars." I know that there is a mental civil "war" going on all over the country and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top. Both sides seem to really despise each other simply based on opinions. It is getting interesting..

 

[Troublemane]

I agree with the Emu here...Palin has more experience in an executive capacity (as head of a company and as mayor before governor) than any of the others, McCain, Obama and Biden. And what has Obama really told us by appointing Biden? that his mantra of change has no substance whatever. His first executive decision is to pick a lifetime politician, Joe Biden, who has been in washington almost as long as Obama's been alive. So...change, Obama? you can throw that slogan out the window now.

But as to Palin, I find it insulting that the article calls McCain's decision to appoint the "girl next door" as VP disrespecting the presidency. The article is espousing an elitist view, that there is an aristocracy in america that exists as a ruling class, and Palin is not part of that class so she's automatically out. Im applauding the move by McCain--its without question a shrewd political move, and the only reason the dems are mad is they didnt have the balls to nominate Hillary.

 

[Reverend Rick]

I agree with the Emu here...Palin has more experience in an executive capacity (as head of a company and as mayor before governor) than any of the others, McCain, Obama and Biden. And what has Obama really told us by appointing Biden? that his mantra of change has no substance whatever. His first executive decision is to pick a lifetime politician, Joe Biden, who has been in washington almost as long as Obama's been alive. So...change, Obama? you can throw that slogan out the window now.

But as to Palin, I find it insulting that the article calls McCain's decision to appoint the "girl next door" as VP disrespecting the presidency. The article is espousing an elitist view, that there is an aristocracy in america that exists as a ruling class, and Palin is not part of that class so she's automatically out. Im applauding the move by McCain--its without question a shrewd political move, and the only reason the dems are mad is they didnt have the balls to nominate Hillary.

:bow: I believe the Democrats are afraid of some friendly competition. :bow:

The Dem's always make us out to be sexist, racist pigs. Just because we disagree, does not make us wrong. The Repulican party is inclusive and growing.

The truth is, both parties have let the American people down. No matter who is elected President this time, things are going to change. The question still remains if this will be a change for the better or not.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

I agree with the Emu here...Palin has more experience in an executive capacity (as head of a company and as mayor before governor) than any of the others, McCain, Obama and Biden. And what has Obama really told us by appointing Biden? that his mantra of change has no substance whatever. His first executive decision is to pick a lifetime politician, Joe Biden, who has been in washington almost as long as Obama's been alive. So...change, Obama? you can throw that slogan out the window now.

But as to Palin, I find it insulting that the article calls McCain's decision to appoint the "girl next door" as VP disrespecting the presidency. The article is espousing an elitist view, that there is an aristocracy in america that exists as a ruling class, and Palin is not part of that class so she's automatically out. Im applauding the move by McCain--its without question a shrewd political move, and the only reason the dems are mad is they didnt have the balls to nominate Hillary.

I disagree with you, brah. I'm not impressed with Sarah Palin, and it isn't because she's the "girl next door" (personally, I feel that commenting on her family issues or her hair or her looks is immaterial). But on the issues, she represents everything that the "maverick" McCain was willing to go against - Far Christian Right pandering, Anti-Environmentalist, I wonder how she feels about immigration laws and McCain's voting record there...........in picking Palin, I felt that this "shrewd political move" is merely pandering to the Evangelical Christian Right rather than making the party look more like the party that Goldwater was the face of.

Not to mention that McCain doesn't seem so maverick anymore. I loved him back in 2000. Now? Meh........

So, you may applaud it, but I pooh-pooh it.

Then again, with the election fast approaching, Heather has been becoming more and more cynical as the days pass. So don't take it personally. LOL

 

[Wandered Off]

The truth is, both parties have let the American people down. No matter who is elected President this time, things are going to change.

I'm with cynical Heather... I don't really see how all that much will change if we continue to elect the same two parties that let us down. We just reinforce the let-down behavior.

 

[little_monkey]

So Obama gets a degree from Harvard, one of the top university in the world, and could have gone into any big firm in NYC, or Washington DC, and make megabucks, which most of his classmates most probably did, but instead goes to Chicago to work among those blue-collar workers who had lost their jobs because the big corporate bosses decided to outsource their manufacturing firms in order to make bigger bucks, and Obama gets to be mocked by Palin for doing THAT community work, while the audience, all true blue Republicans, cheered their heads off...

Yep, Obama is certainly the villain in this story...

EDIT: Though he was raised in poverty by a single mother who had to wait on table, Obama is also an ELITE...

:sarcastic

 

[Father Heathen]

No what makes a religion a cult is the deviation from what most Christians would consider the normal or fundamental belief. AOG are fundamentalist....

That would make Christianity a cult since it deviated from what most Jews would consider the normal or fundamental belief.

 

[Father Heathen]

The Repulican party is inclusive and growing..

Except for homosexuals and atheists for who they have a disdain for.

 

[Troublemane]

LoL--dont get me wrong, sis, Im not a big fan of McCain. I know he needed shoring up on the conservative side, since hes got low cred with them. But it was still a shrewd move politically. EVERYONES talking about her. Nobody's talking about Biden---have ya noticed? Biden is just plain...boring. He hasnt energized anyone, the only people excited are the ones who wouldve voted for Obama no matter what.

Im not a McCain fan myself, and i will probably be voting for Obama (as long as he doesnt change his stance on china...), but i certainly dont regret leaving the democratic party, especially if theres going to be such a lack of parity in dealing with the candidates---the media's inadequecy in covering Obama's dealings with american terrorists like Bill Ayers, or how Edwards' affair was covered up by the media in order to help his campaign, these are played off as unimportant/nonissues--but the fact that Sarah Palin has a 17-year old girl who is pregnant? THATs important? puh-LEAZE. Wheres the parity here? the gender bias should be obvious.

Its things like that which make me happy to say im a registered independant!

 

[lilithu]

America deserves whatever it votes for.

Except that the rest of the world has to suffer too.

 

[little_monkey]

I'm with cynical Heather... I don't really see how all that much will change if we continue to elect the same two parties that let us down. We just reinforce the let-down behavior.

Yep, after the Republicans screwed up for the last 8 years in the WH, 12 years in Congress (prior to 2006), McCain is the man for change by going to Washington and put the Republicans back in top jobs. That'll show them?!?

 

[MysticSang'ha]

LoL--dont get me wrong, sis, Im not a big fan of McCain. I know he needed shoring up on the conservative side, since hes got low cred with them. But it was still a shrewd move politically. EVERYONES talking about her. Nobody's talking about Biden---have ya noticed? Biden is just plain...boring. He hasnt energized anyone, the only people excited are the ones who wouldve voted for Obama no matter what.

Well, agreed on that.

Im not a McCain fan myself, and i will probably be voting for Obama (as long as he doesnt change his stance on china...), but i certainly dont regret leaving the democratic party, especially if theres going to be such a lack of parity in dealing with the candidates---the media's inadequecy in covering Obama's dealings with american terrorists like Bill Ayers, or how Edwards' affair was covered up by the media in order to help his campaign, these are played off as unimportant/nonissues--but the fact that Sarah Palin has a 17-year old girl who is pregnant? THATs important? puh-LEAZE. Wheres the parity here? the gender bias should be obvious.

Its things like that which make me happy to say im a registered independant!

I think what the critics are saying about Bristol's pregnancy is the irony of her mother's position against sex-ed in school. I can sorta understand the attraction there, but overall I think the issue shouldn't be about Bristol herself, but about Palin's stance for abstinence-only education, which is imo rather lame.

I'm just waiting for the day when our taxes are cut and we're not handing over almost half of our paychecks to the government. Even though Palin spoke about cutting a lot of funds from pork-barrel projects, she still accepted earmarks early on for the "Bridge to Nowhere" in Alaska, and is sooooooo excited about that huge pipeline.

So, where was Palin again on "taking on Big Oil and the Good Ol' Boys" again? Personally, I think that's all talk, and she has them in her pocket at taxpayers expense.

 

[Reverend Rick]

Except for homosexuals and atheists for who they have a disdain for.

Father Heathen, I can assure you that I do not hold any disdain for homosexuals or Atheists. While I enjoy the banter,:slap: I truly feel sorry for anyone who yearns to be free and cannot. Thats not the freedom that I fought for. I want everyone to be free to pursue their happiness.

While the Republican Party does stand in the way of progress for some (we agree?) The Democratic party does the same thing by pushing socialist policies on unwillingly participants as well. Can you see this? Both parties push their ideologies on each other, which is bad for the country as a whole.

Wanting income redistribution is no different than wanting to keep your hard earned money. Each side is looking out for their selfish interests if the truth be told.

 

[lilithu]

While the Republican Party does stand in the way of progress for some [namely, "homosexuals and Atheists"]. The Democratic party does the same thing by pushing socialist policies on unwillingly participants as well. Can you see this?

:thud: Let's agree on this, Rick. You stop making the ridiculous claim that you're being oppressed by socialist policies and I promise that I will never claim that I am being oppressed by capitalist policies. Making such frivolous claims in comparison to the legalized discrimination against people who are BGLT is intolerable.

 

[Engyo]

No what makes a religion a cult is the deviation from what most Christians would consider the normal or fundamental belief. AOG are fundamentalist....

How would this criteria be applied to non-Christian groups? Are they all cults?

 

[Reverend Rick]

:thud: Let's agree on this, Rick. You stop making the ridiculous claim that you're being oppressed by socialist policies and I promise that I will never claim that I am being oppressed by capitalist policies. Making such frivolous claims in comparison to the legalized discrimination against people who are BGLT is intolerable.

Discrimination should be intolerable. Let's agree on that. :yes:

 

[lilithu]

Discrimination should be intolerable. Let's agree on that. :yes:

A difference of opinion about which economic strategy is best is NOT discrimination.

 

[Father Heathen]

Yeah, I think social equality is a bit more important than a yacht and a Bentley.