Comments on: [Greta Christina] The Obligatory Sarah Palin Column, or, Why I Don’t Care About A Pregnant 17 Year Old

by: John

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 03:24:50 +0000

Caryn,
Obama is a lot more qualified than Sarah Palin. He has served in his state Senate and the U.S Senate for longer than Palin has been involved in politics. Considering that it is implied in the Constitution that the legislative branch is the first branch of government, his experience far outweighs anything Palin has done, Which by the way is accept pork-barrel money, completely ignore ethics or law, and has policies that are ignorant if not downright stupid.

by: Kelly

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:36:16 +0000

Same here, Megan - I have PCOS, which means that my hormones are out-of-whack and my menstruation is not regular. Birth control has been helping keep them at normal levels. If I were to let my PCOS go unchecked, I am at risk for ovarian cancer, infertility, and other unhappy things. I’d prefer to keep my meds. I’ve been on birth control since I was about 17 - when I found out about the PCOS - and I am 21 now.

by: Joreth

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 03:11:37 +0000

I just blogged about this and I thought you might want to hear what I had to say - since it’s basically “Hey, what she said!”

http://joreth.livejournal.com/107113.html

by: Megan

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 22:18:17 +0000

As a 17-year-old young woman, i am extremely offended that McCain and Palin both want to make birth control unavailable, especially because of the fact that I am on birth control, not because I’m sexually active (believe me, definitely not) but because I need it to keep myself healthy. And the fact that it clears up my acne doesn’t hurt either.

by: Tyrus

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:07:21 +0000

Ok, here’s a funny thing here with the whole inexperience issue. Some people must forget that Obama was a state senator for almost 8 years or the fact that he was a Constitutional Law professor for 12 years. Hmm, that must be inexperience. Oh yeah he represented about 750,000 people as a state senator (100,000 more than what Palin serves as a governor.) So what experience should he have? Also there is the issue of his current status as a US Senator in which he represents 13 million people (almost twice as much as McCain) which he has done for 4 years. It is true that he has served for less time than McCain, but at least he isn’t as corrupt as him. Don’t forget the Keating Five Scandal; in which McCain was the only senator that didn’t resign out of shame for taking special favors from that corrupt mortgage company. His wife made $15 million off that shipwreck, but it wasn’t that he was doing some insider trading; it was his wife’s well timed trading. Or the fact that he got special treatment as a POW by ratting out other soldiers and telling the Vietcong that his father was an Admiral. Yet people call him a war hero and a maverick rather than what he probably should be called: a coward. So vote McCain-Palin: Cowardly inexperience and idiotic corruption you can believe in. Do you want to know what is beautiful? Most people don’t know anything about these people, but they are going to vote for them like it is the second coming of Christ. I can’t really think that it is because America is stupid; I just think that you seriously hate yourselves. You make accusations against good people and completely cover up the skeletons of your so righteous candidates. So by all means continue to screw yourselves over for as long as you want, but don’t take the country down with you. 8 more years of Bush politics will decimate your rights and kill this country. McCain-Palin will only ensure that this will happen and don’t lie to yourself by saying it won’t. With them history is doomed to repeat itself with another steaming heap of this Bush Era garbage. Oppress yourselves by appointing fearless tyrants or ensure your freedom by changing the world. What else is there to say?

by: emma.

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:01:13 +0000

jenny, being funny when answering a serious question is simply avoiding a real answer. whether she was being funny or not, it was an inappropriate thing to say, especially when her foreign policy experience is still so unknown.

by: Kelly

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 23:05:34 +0000

Jenny -

Have you taken a gander at Palin’s interview with ABC? She talks about her position on guns, abortion, foreign policy, global warming, and many other issues that Greta mentioned. I don’t remember now if all the aforementioned issues are addressed in the interview, but it’s a good starting place.

I see quite a few quotes in the linked articles though. Most of the links are from Huffington Post, and they usually write their stories based on other stories, which they link within the article. Try clicking those; I find them helpful when I want more information.

Greta -

I, too, am less worried about her daughter (though the hypocrisy and double-standards that go with her are quite amusing to me) but more in the other things you have listed. She scares me, and her nomination is deeply offensive to me, as a woman.

MercuryBlue -

Are you a man? Be honest now. All of that is moot when you go back to what this country was founded on - it’s better to give people choices and then educate them towards the right one than it is to remove choices altogether. Whatever the practice is, it becomes so, so much safer once its legalized. We found that with alcohol during the prohibition movement, and we will find that again with abortion (and marijuana).

by: Robin Lionheart

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:57:59 +0000

When the GOP cites Sarah Palin’s qualifications as “governor of Alaska”, “mayor of Wasilla”, and “mother of 4″ [as irrelevant as that was and is], it’s hypocritical for them to complain about criticism of her performance in each of these duties.

by: Jenny

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:09:33 +0000

Can someone please post a quote from Sarah Palin actually saying any of these ridiculous things? All the links in this post were to articles saying, “She thinks such and such; or I heard she thinks such and such”, but no actual quotes; no actual, complete video. The video quote from the ‘God’s mission’ story has the beginning and end cut off, as well as the context of her speaking to an audience of soldiers’ families in a church.

I have seensnipets of some other video (like the one where she is questioned about choosing life) but all the quotes referencing THAT are added onto/ editorialized. For accuracy, and so that we can all be completely informed when we make this decision in November, am I the only one who wants to know the whole story?

I’d especially like to see/hear her actually say that dinosaurs and humans walked the earth at the same time. And the ‘you can see Russia from here…’ am I the only one who thinks she was being funny? I just saw her personality coming out, not a statement of her policy.

by: solicitor bulgaria

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:58:40 +0000

There are enough reasons to NOT vote for McCain and Palin without bringing her teenage daughter into it.

by: Ephemeriis

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:15:49 +0000

left was very happy to bash not just Obama on experience but Biden as well, but now they’re crying foul when anyone mentions Palin’s experience (or lack there-of).

Well, I guess that’s what I get for attempting rational discourse before finishing my first cup of coffee.

Obviously I intended to type right there…

Although there were plenty of folks on the left, during the primaries, who were happily bashing Obama’s experience - but that isn’t what I was referring to.

by: Ephemeriis

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:00:45 +0000

And yet she’s more qualified than Obama. And anyone of you who believe she has any ability to stop her child from having sex must not have any children of your own. None of us can ensure a child will do exactly as we want them to do and if you believe that were true, I’d be concerned about your ability to raise them up to be productive, independent people.

I have a kid. And honestly, I haven’t tried to stop him from having sex. He’s been well educated on the consequences that a bad choice can result in. He’s been told that he’ll be much happier if he find the right person, whatever that may mean for him, rather than just jumping on the first person available. He’s been told all about condoms and why they’re much better/safer than some other forms of contraception. And I honestly trust him on this. He’s 17 now, only a few months from his 18th birthday, and no pregnant girlfriends yet. I guess I’m doing better than Sarah Palin so far.

Please, stop throwing about how inadequately prepared she is for office because it only shows how much LESS qualified Obama is. He’s never served as Mayor. He’s never served as Governor. She’s made tough decisions for what she and those who elected her believe were good and right for the people of her State. Obama has never done such a thing because he’s never served in such a capacity.

Sarah Palin, and the experience she does or does not have, isn’t the problem. It may be part of the problem, but it isn’t the problem.

I don’t agree with McCain’s politics, never have. I wasn’t going to vote for him anyway, so Palin didn’t change my mind. But that doesn’t mean I agree with her in any way. I believe that her politics, much like McCain’s, are wrong. I believe that her views on sex education are wrong. I believe that her views on abortion are wrong. I believe her religious beliefs are downright scary. You get the idea. And none of that has much to do with experience. She could have been in Washington for years, like McCain, and still be wrong.

As for the experience itself… I find it interesting that the left was very happy to bash not just Obama on experience but Biden as well, but now they’re crying foul when anyone mentions Palin’s experience (or lack there-of).

by: Lyra

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 06:09:44 +0000

To Bill Dee:
Apparently you have no wife/sister/mother/daughter for which to assist in the protection of her bodily rights. Sarah Palin’s stand on the issues of abortion and contraceptives flies straight into the face of reason. While her daughter is only proof that Palin’s stand does not work, she is nonetheless an innocent girl in the matters of her mother. She did not ask to be the center of national or, dare I say, international debate.

I have trouble supporting a Republican ticket for the simple fact of I am a woman. I would feel violated if someone thought they had a right to tell me what I can and cannot do to my body.

When you say that you would vote for a “white, racist, sexist man” as long as we had universal heath care and equal education, your assumption is that he will put aside those things that make him racist and sexist. There will NOT be any sort of equal treatment if a “racist, sexist man” is in office. Period. I cannot help but point out that you must also be a “white, racist, sexist man” to think that voting for one is admissible under any circumstances.

And as for Sarah Palin and swaying the women’s vote, I agree that the Republican party is vastly mistaken as to the intelligence of women everywhere. We would vote for a woman who held our ideals to heart, not a woman who would make us slaves again.

However, those of you who will read this are those who do not need to be told. And there is the greatest of all our struggles.

by: Caryn

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 04:13:48 +0000

And yet she’s more qualified than Obama. And anyone of you who believe she has any ability to stop her child from having sex must not have any children of your own. None of us can ensure a child will do exactly as we want them to do and if you believe that were true, I’d be concerned about your ability to raise them up to be productive, independent people. We can still believe in policy that stops people from killing innocent babies, even if our teenage children decide to have unprotected sex. They’re two separate issues, people.

Please, stop throwing about how inadequately prepared she is for office because it only shows how much LESS qualified Obama is. He’s never served as Mayor. He’s never served as Governor. She’s made tough decisions for what she and those who elected her believe were good and right for the people of her State. Obama has never done such a thing because he’s never served in such a capacity.

by: Amanda

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 02:40:46 +0000

Thank you!!! I was fairly undecided (leaning towards Obama but not certain) before Mccain announced his VP pick. As a white woman, I felt personally insulted by his choice. You hit the nail right on the head, these are the exact same reasons I give people for why I’m *not* voting for Mccain/Palin.

On the bright side, by choosing her, he made *my* choice much easier. :)

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Sun, 21 Sep 2008 22:46:06 +0000

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by: MercuryBlue

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:19:34 +0000

In complete fairness to Sarah Palin: I can’t see why the abortion laws for a given locale, whatever those laws might be, should be different depending on whether the pregnancy results from consensual sex or nonconsensual, between related individuals or unrelated. I can only think of one reason to distinguish pregnancies resulting from incest from other pregnancies, and that’s the increased likelihood of congenital defects in the child, and there’s plenty of children born and unborn whose parents are unrelated and who have congenital defects nonetheless, so the distinction between incestuous pregnancies and nonincestuous becomes irrelevant. And I can only think of two reasons to distinguish pregnancies resulting from rape from other pregnancies. One is the increased likelihood of psychological damage to mother and/or child–well, rape’s hardly the only source of psychological damage, and some victims escape without psychological damage, so that reason to make the distinction becomes irrelevant. And given the assumption that women are actually entitled to have sex whenever they want to and can find a willing partner, the second reason, that pregnancy is a punishment for women choosing to engage in unauthorized heterosexual sex and a rape victim by definition did not so choose, is appalling.

That abortion laws should not be different for pregnancies resulting from consensual sex between unrelated individuals than they are for other pregnancies is very probably the only point on which Palin and I agree…

by: Agnes

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 11:18:03 +0000

Wriley:

“…a good majority of the US people are Christian Fundamentalists who take every word of the bible as absolutely true. It’s fear.” - I ask the random quantum fluctuations in the space-time-continuum every night on my knees that this might not be so. Where’s the voice of self-aware, thinking America? Except from blogs, on the public level.

by: Wriley

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 03:14:18 +0000

To Valdemar:

You must remember that a good majority of the US people are Christian Fundamentalists who take every word of the bible as absolutely true. It’s fear. That’s all it is.

Sarah Palin’s refusal to allow contraceptives offends me. As a woman, I should be allowed to decide whether or not I want to get pregnant and how I should keep myself from getting pregnant. The government should have no say in the matter.

What it really reminds me of is the Catholic church’s ban on condoms and birth control…..

by: Steve

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 16:57:38 +0000

Very well-written article, Greta. Quite honestly, I’ve stayed away from the news and away from the whole “Palin party.” The fact that she has spent very little time in a public office and has already screwed up so many times should even scare avid McCain supporters.

I’m from Kansas, and just graduated from public schooling. As everyone knows, Konservative Kansas doesn’t teach evolution in schooling. So, evolution, the proven scientific theory, is taught equally to creationism. Science doesn’t express the supernatural, therefore there isn’t any reason creationism should be taught in science classes.

You hit nail on the head when you said:
“I care that Palin was nominated, in large part, because the GOP (a) wanted to get women voters, and (b) thinks women voters are idiots. I care that they view their Vice- Presidential nominee as, essentially, Dan Quayle in a dress.”

Unfortunately though, I do think that a lot of women are blind to the fact that the only reason she’s on the ticket is to pick up women voters. I hate that the only reason she’s on the ticket is to pick up women voters. She’s in a league of her own, at least Ron Paul had some logic to his thinking.

by: Summer Squirrel

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 14:42:36 +0000

Although I agree with this post I’m interested in these supposed “half-truths” that Katy is referring to. Please provide links as inquiring and open-minded people want to know. So far in my readings I haven’t come across this information you are alluding to.

Thanks.

BTW, since Palin is much closer statistically to the possibility of become President I think she deserves to be closely examined and commented on. So far is ain’t looking good for her.

by: Uncle B

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 13:05:02 +0000

Some responsible, educated adults show restraint and maturity by using birth-control, pills or abstenance, in our sexually active very early, and later years because we know that statistically, there is a very large chance of problems with a pregnancy at these times of life. The grown-up responsible, adult and humane thing to do is to abstain, or indulge with appropriate protection. The Palin girls apparently do neither, and can only be counted as callous and careless sluts, if not downright ignorant! A girl of 17 should be in school looking at a future, an education and a career in this day and age – sexually active or otherwise! A woman of 40 should know enough to not get in trouble! Contraception, by pills or abstinence is the most humane way to avoid abortion and unfortunate little lives of suffering. I wish these “red-neck broads” would grow up and show some personal responsibility for their bodily functions instead of prancing their asses in front of the cameras because they have been told that they are ‘cute’ Lots of girls are winsome, most of them are more discrete, take personal responsibility for their God given endowments, and show more self-respect! God help America, we need it at times like these, an old goat and a bawdy broad wanting to run the show in Washington!

by: valdemar

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 09:49:21 +0000

I’m a Brit. Can anyone help me with this ‘end of the world’ stuff that so many Americans (like Sarah Palin) profess to believe in? I mean, if they really believe Armageddon is coming, why run for office (or go to work, or - for Pete’s sake - have kids)? Yet wild and bloodthirsty doomsaying seems to resonate with so many US voters, and those Left Behind books have racked up a scary 60 million plus in sales. We’ve had nothing like this in England since the 17th century. What is going on? Please explain it - preferably explain it away so I can sleep better at nights.

by: Scott

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 08:46:04 +0000

I agree with a lot of what you’re saying, but as Ephemeriis points out, Bristol Palin’s pregnancy is quite relevant; it illustrates the failings of the abstinence lifestyle that Sarah Palin has openly announced she wants to make official government policy to promote; if Sarah Palin can’t convince her own daughter not to engage in sexual intercourse outside of marriage (and unprotected intercourse no less), then why would any other teenager listen to their parents or (especially) the government? And yet Sarah Palin nevertheless wants to make this official government policy.

Furthermore, the hypocrisy of such a position is also quite relevant, especially for a public figure; true, we all make allowances for our own families and our own kin where we might not for other people, which is all very well and good, but we’re not all in positions where we’re actively trying to enforce our beliefs about how the ‘perfect’ family should function on other families. What would give Sarah Palin the right to dictate to other families that which clearly didn’t work for her own?

Her daughter’s pregnancy is not the most important issue surrounding Sarah Palin, true, but it’s not entirely irrelevant either.