Including this horror: "her husband fishes unironically!

That one tears it for me.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 08:53 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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He's wondering why the "respectable" right-of-center blogosphere isn't boycotting Andrew Sullivan, who is apparently peddling that silliness about how Sarah Palin is really her last baby's grandmother, not his mother, and how the child was really carried/born by her teenaged daughter.

It's silly stuff, and we all know it. Not just because Palin is on-record as looking pregnant in her third trimester, and not just because her colleagues noticed that she was pregnant toward the end, when her loose clothing just couldn't hide it any more, but because it's simply unheard-of for a teenaged girl to have a child with Down's. The odds of Down's start climbing at around 35, and steeply, too.

They spike when a woman reaches her 40s. And of course they do: we're using up the last of our eggs. The not-very-good ones.

Anyway, Ace says a bunch of stuff about Excitable Andy, which you may read if you care for that sort of thing.

And, as usual, I long for that brief time in history in which it was Off Limits to discuss the children of Presidents (and Presidential aspirants). For the wrong reasons, perhaps. After that infamous "Saturday Night Live" sketch, Hillary Clinton made some phone calls (or so the story goes—perhaps it was Magic Fairy Dust that descended, instead) and the word went down in nearly every studio in Los Angeles that Chelsea was not to be the subject of any parodies. Period.

And I felt that the whole thing was a bit heavy-handed, but I was hoping that it would set a precedent—that we might see some privacy for the offspring of politicians, even if their spouses are normally forced to share the spotlight to some degree.

Yeah, yeah—and I'll be looking for the Great Pumpkin, too, this Halloween. What's it to you? Aren't people basically good? Why is everyone staring at me like that? No, I am not an idiot. Just not terribly bright. There's a distinction to be made, there. I think.

But as for Ace's suggestions:

1) I haven't linked to Sullivan in years. I haven't read him in years, unless it was something in The Atlantic, in long form, that I'd already paid for. (As everyone knows, that is the one magazine I get on paper. At my mail drop. Unless you are going to count the subscription that my mother got me to Prevention, which magically renews itself every year.) I'm on-board with boycotting his blog, and anything he writes online.

I don't see any reason any respectable blogger would link to Sullivan, who has been off his rocker for at least four years now.

So I'm most certainly taking up that suggestion of His Aceship. It will involve zero change in my behavior.

2) But I have no intention of eschewing the other Atlantic bloggers: I love McArdle and Coates, and I'm not giving them up. Nope.

3) The paper edition of The Atlantic also publishes Mark Steyn, as well as Christopher Hitchens, who (despite his still being A Man of the Left) has gone through hell on earth with the literati for being as much of a free-thinker as he is. He's bucked the orthodoxy many times, and paid dearly for it.

The Atlantic publishes Sandra Tsing Loh, who is brilliant, non-doctrinaire in her thinking, and an acquaintance/friend of mine from high school.

And Barbara Wallraff! I couldn't give her up. That would hurt. Physically.

Therefore, my immodest proposals would be:

• Don't bother reading Sullivan—and most certainly not his blog;

• Send a letter to the editors of The Atlantic, expressing your concern over the potentially libelous, patently illogical and almost certainly false allegations he is making about the Governor of Alaska, and (more importantly, of course) her teenaged daughter—who, even if she had born a child out of wedlock, would be entitled to some privacy regarding same.

It hardly makes sense, after all, to get the government out of our bedrooms, only to invite the media into our delivery rooms.

No, no. I won't be boycotting the other Atlanto-bloggers, and you may pry my copy of the magazine (including Wallraff's "Word Court") from my cold, dead fingers.

But I do plan to get in touch with the editors, and tell them that it's time for Sullivan to go—as a blogger, and as a contributor to the magazine. I'll do it on paper, because that's my primary relationship with these folks, and because I own bitchin' stationery I rarely use. You might [a] simply want to go to the online version, and either lodge a "Letter to the Editor" there, or use their contact form.

Or, [b] use Joy's patented "fuddy-duddy" method:

The Atlantic
Editor: James Bennett
600 New Hampshire Ave., Northwest
Washington, D.C. 20037

or [c] try this: letters@theatlantic.com

Ace is right about one thing; Sullivan is out where the buses don't run. So the frustration with him has been building for a while.

I had thought that getting married would settle him down, but, you know: it doesn't work for every man, does it?

Do the right thing.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 07:55 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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. . . of Governor Palin, from Time magazine. Lots of local color from her small town. Good stuff.

h/t: Zoey, who has plenty of Sarahpernalia up at her site as well.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 01:46 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Hackbarth has a clip of her from her stint as a newscaster in the 1980s, and a bit of video from the rifle range in Kuwait, when she visited her guardsmen as Alaska's Governor. Needless to say, she handles the recoil on the full-auto quite well.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 01:22 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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And at least one of the following is true:

1) You don't know much about Sarah Palin;

2) You see Affirmative Action lurking in the shadows, waiting to pounce and undermine Conservatism, the GOP, and the War on Terror—possibly all in one fell swoop;

3) You're a bit of a sexist; or

4) When you look at a bakery cake, all you can see is frosting.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 12:54 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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He gets extra points for not saying, "it's so cool that you people have a competent Governor, now! Big help!"

Posted by: Attila Girl at 10:34 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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There's something slightly macabre/unseemly about the clip, since the subtext of the interview is "hey, man. You are, like, really old. How can we take your candidacy seriously when you appoint this hick chick as your running mate? Come on, man—you've got one foot in the grave."

Stole this one from Stacy Mac.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 10:12 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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when one is assessing Sarah Palin's foreign-policy chops. Darleen makes the case.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 09:56 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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From "Post-Political":

Joe Biden, at age 65, presents risk that Barack Obama, a man with exactly 140 days of experience in Washington, could be a heartbeat away from having to make decisions on his own.

Scary thought.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 09:02 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Teenager has Down's Syndrome baby, fathered by Martian! Mother/Governor part of cover-up!

Lies, deceit, and poor prenatal care in the Tundra!

Posted by: Attila Girl at 08:20 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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On the attempts from the left to slime Sarah Palin:

Progressives, alas, are — in the final analysis — progressives first. And when power is at stake, integrity becomes just another cog in the machinery of pragmatic rationalizations. Which is why we are now treated to the spectacle of Pandagon and Feministe tearing down a woman whose life choices have propelled her to a successful career in business and politics—all while maintaining a tight-knit family — so that they can stand up for a candidate whose base took on Hillary Clinton with cries of “Bros Before Hos,” and who now are out in full misogynistic force tearing down Palin as a bimbo breeder hick.

The irony, could it be bottled, would be thick enough make a tapenade — though one so bitter that most self respecting breadsticks would avoid it like a fish avoids a bicycle . . .

Like the fight for suffrage all over again, in some respects, is it not? "This is the Negro's hour." So, you know: women had to wait a few more decades to vote. Bros before Hos: fuck that shit.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 07:17 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Look. This one is kind of embarrassing, but Sarah Palin once out-drove . . . me!

More here, natch.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 06:56 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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How odd.

The Hillary Forum has been locked down now, so that outsiders cannot view its contents. Fortunately, Hawkins went over there and grabbed some typical quotes:

Bella: Buuuuurn Obama Buuuurn! What a slap in the face. If it's Palin, I will put blood and sweat into campaigning for that team.

MaryinOregon: OMG! Republican candidate chooses a woman!!! Take that Democrats,party of sexism!!! ROFLMAO!!

Eddie3dfx: All this B.S. that the Republicans are racist and sexist, yet colin powell and condi rice were some of the biggest players in the rnc. Now Sarah has been confirmed. What does that tell you about the DNC.. Hypocrits.

movingtous: Ok, can anyone confirm this for me? Is it true that we must donate to McCain by Aug. 30th in order for him to accept it? I need this response, ASAP!

swannyj: If this is true, this moves me from staying at home to voting McCain.

Florida Dawn: McCain has picked PALIN!!! I am THRILLED! AS for the Dums whining that she doens't have experience running things--SHE HAS FIVE KIDS!! TRUST ME! SHE KNOWS HOW TO RUN THINGS! GOD BLESS MCCAIN/PALIN!!!

John Hawkins doesn't drink, doesn't swear, and doesn't lie. If he says those quotes are representative of what was going on in the Hillary forum when he pulled them out—then they were.

And the answer to that financial question, as millions roll in each day to McCain's campaign (it started on Friday, for reasons I can't quite suss out) is that we need to get our money in by this Thursday in order to have it applied directly to the McCain-Palin campaign, but that after that the RNC will still need funding. Since McCain-Palin will have more discretion in using money they get directly, it's best to get that dough in over the next few days. I'd use a debit or credit card at this point, and do it online, rather than trusting a check to arrive on time. (That link went directly to the financial donations page; if you want general news, or if you want to volunteer, here's the main campaign page.)

Posted by: Attila Girl at 05:08 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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1) "How is she going to deal with Russia, huh?" (Look at a map. Locate the largest U.S. State. Check on which nations border it.)

2) "She shouldn't be taking on a demanding job. Not with a young child—a special-needs child—at home." (Oopsie. Didn't know women still had to choose between having careers and families. Guess what? I think the wealthiest country in the world can arrange to supplement her family's efforts with some childcare assistance in the VP mansion in D.C., given how much we spend on security for our nation's First/Second families. Alaska may help: they could send the Feds some of the money they saved over the last two years from Palin's selling of the Gubernatorial plane, performing her own driving, and minimizing the security details for the First Family of Alaska.)

Keep grasping at straws, dudes and dudettes.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 04:33 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Well, we should be concerned, dammit. These unpopular truths have to be faced up to: experience matters.

That's why, with Governor Palin joining McCain as his Veep pick, Obama and Biden should at least consider flipping their ticket, so that the guy at the top has done . . . well, something. Ohterwise, the Democrats are just going to embarrass themselves. Better yet, Obama could bow out.

Flopping Aces is running, with other commentary, the Redstate chart that compares Palin's experience to Obama's, point-by-point.

It doesn't look good. For Obama.

Obama, Obama . . . it isn't too late. You could go back to The House of Lords The Senate, and let the Dems replace you with a grownup. Spare yourself the humiliation of going through with this.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 04:22 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Via AllahP at Hot Air, who's got some great anaysis, and remarks: "The leftÂ’s right that someone here is treating all women as essentially fungible, but it ainÂ’t John McCain."

Yup.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 10:16 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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. . . Cassandra raises some serious and disturbing questions about Sarah Palin's suitability for the McCain ticket.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 09:58 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Over at Flopping Aces, MataHarley meticulously goes over the history of Palin's connections to both Trooper Wooten and Commissioner Monegan. She examines many sources, including some that are clearly antagonistic toward Palin, and yet still appear to support the notion that there was no attempt by Palin or her husband to use their influence to get this scumbag troubled trooper fired.

MataHarley:

First, the [. . .] accusation is that the GovernorÂ’s office had questionable reasons (meaning removing Wooten from the AST) for firing Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan in July 2008. As we know, documented complaints from Palin about Wooten started prior to MoneganÂ’s appointment . . . which Monegan may, or may not, have been aware [of].

Yet Monegan was appointed by Palin. She was certainly within her rights to fire him. And if complaints were already lodged about Wooten to his immediate superior, Col. Julia Grimes, why did she [Palin] need to pressure him [Monegan] to fire Wooten? After all, if Palin was going to “abuse” her power to get Wooten fired, why not direct that power over Grimes as the superior of the Troopers?

And if getting Wooten fired was her quest, why did she not take steps to do that in 2005 during the complaint period, instead of specifically stating under deposition that she was staying silent in order not to put his job at risk? Not to mention the gap in time . . . why would it take her two and a half years to fire Monegan because of Wooten?

Read Ms. Harley's comprehensive account. It's clear that Palin removed Monegan for (1) performance issues, and (2) disagreements over how they were going to handle specific challenges, including matters pertaining to budget. When a subordinate is not "on board" with one's strategy, and will not support it, eventually he/she is going to have to go, no?

Palin didn't acquire a bunch of power, and then fire her entire Travel Office Public Safety Commissioner for reasons of nepotism. She fired him for lack of performance, and even offered him another post in order to allow him to save face.

And when Palin's husband discussed Trooper Out-of-Control with Monegan, it was under orders based on safety concerns regarding Alaska's First Family:

Todd Palin was ORDERED by the head of the GovernorÂ’s security detail, Special Agent Bob Cockrell, to discuss Trooper Wooten with Walt Monegan, as Wooten presented a credible threat to the GovernorÂ’s safety. HereÂ’s a direct quote from Special Agent Cockrell, who is now providing security for his sixth consecutive governor:

“When made aware of the security concerns regarding a state trooper, I instructed the First Gentleman to contact the Commissioner of Public Safety. It is standard protocol to ask every Governor about any threats they perceive or have realized. “I will not hesitate to set the record straight in answering these false allegations by former Commissioner Monegan.”

(emphasis added [first one by Little Miss Attila; second one by Flopping Aces])

And now Monegan wants to make a scandal out of it. Good luck with that. Hey, Buddy? You might try Michael Moore; I'm sure he'll bite. Or maybe Keith Olbermann, who states that when he initially heard about McCain's VP pick, he thought McCain was "talking about Michael Palin, of Monty Python's Flying Circus."

Our mainstream media are, for the most part, a bad joke.

(X-posted over at Right-Wing News.)

Posted by: Attila Girl at 08:47 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Michael Moore, talking to Keith Olbermann, discusses the possibility that a hurricane during the GOP convention might prove the existence of God, and suggests that women who are happy with Sarah Palin's being part of the GOP ticket this year are "dumb."

This reminds me why I don't go out of my way to watch television; I don't think it would do much to improve my blood pressure.

But having subjected myself to a few minutes of Michael Moore's idiocy leaves me counting the days until An American Carol comes out.

(Cross-posted at Right-Wing News.)

Posted by: Attila Girl at 07:38 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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. . . while I make those blue-chip investments in Kleenex and liquid KY/specialized "men's cremes."

Now, boys: remember to show up at work every now and then, Palin or no Palin. If I can manage it, so can you. (And, yes: I'll have to work extra-hard tomorrow to make up the time lost to Palin-mania today. But it was worth it!)

Posted by: Attila Girl at 12:00 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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