Cheryl Katz

I didn’t see this at the time it was shown, I actually only got to view it after we’d finished with McCain’s speech (had to pause it to put the wee one to bed.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDx80bnFrVs

I found the imagery beyond upsetting. Appalling. Not in and of itself, but because it was being shamelessly exploited to make people feel afraid, to garner support for Republican defense policies.

I was there on 9/11. Not the only person I know who was there, and certainly one of a million people in the tip of lower manhattan that day. Footage of the destruction, the dead and the dying, touch a tender spot that I tend to armor pretty well. I don’t like it when those feelings and those memories are triggered; I especially dislike it when its purpose is to convince me to hate an enemy or vote a certain way.

Keith Olbermann’s reaction was dead on. Republicans regularly decry the kind of graphic footage that was used, and yet found it appropriate to stuff their propaganda full of it.

I really am appalled.

That bit toward the end about having been an arrogant jerk and how he came to love America more than himself was actually good. Too bad he ended every sentence with a creepy, forced smile; it made almost everything he said seem insincere.

He actually seemed most natural, human and approachable in the moments after the protester was hauled off. His off the cuff comment made him seem for a brief moment connected to what was going on around him.

The rest nearly put me to sleep. It really is a shame that he wasted the whole speech making policy sound like the most boring topic on earth. Even if I disagree, I still enjoy a good speech better than one that sounds half asleep.

If they can’t keep protesters out of their own convention, how are they going to protect us from terrorists?

Yes, this builds confidence.

I made vegetarian, no-pasta lasagne last night that was surprisingly satisfying!

One step calls for blanching Romaine lettuce leaves, and I believe that I overdid this step resulting in flaccid leaves, so I added eggplant slices for additional hearty substance.  (I love eggplant for its beefy texture without much in the way of nutritional significance.)

The pureed tofu with cottage cheese, herbs and garlic made a stealthy substitute for ricotta cheese, and my kid liked the mixture along with the lettuce and tomatoes to boot!  However, Sami could do without the asparagus and garlic, thank you very much.

The best part of this recipe – portion sizes are huge!  As linked, it serves six, and one sixth of a baking pan of this is quite filing without being excessively… anything.  The eggplant added abotu 20 calories to the nutritional info of one serving while, in my opinion, making the dish much more satisfying.

Highly recommend for the yum factor.

PS: Added benefit for me is that t’s kosher dairy.  So Sami can take it to school.

Why did the “Service” signs look like Hershey bars?

Also, why did the RNC come off looking like a really big karaoke bar, while the DNC looked like an actual, professional, coordinated political event?

Anyway….

Will Bristol Palin’s pregnancy make McCain-Palin more appealing to some Obama supporters *and* social conservatives?

1) She’s keeping the baby.  This is a win with pro-life conservatives.

2) She’s embarking on the struggle of parenthood a) by surprise and b) incredibly young.  I imagine this makes Bristol a sympathetic character to many single mothers, pregnant teens, many of whom are not necessarily conservatives themselves.

3) This makes her mom look practically like a saint.  No one can completely control their children, but they can be supportive and see that they “do the right thing.”  And it makes McCain look more progressive for choosing Palin when he “knew” about the daughter’s pregnancy.  Which may help him in the center and have uncertain effects on the right.

Scary, scary.

Of course, Obama shines like gold, saying that this all shouldn’t be a campaign issue.  

Mr. Obama said the pregnancy “has no relevance to Governor Palin’s performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president.” He added that, “my mother had me when she was 18. How a family deals with issues and teen-age children — that shouldn’t be the topic of our politics.” (excerpt from NYTimes.com article here)

I agree, but only if Palin isn’t hiding something – it *is* a campaign issue if the potential vice president of the United States is a big fat liar. It’s true, the pregnancy issue has no bearing on her doubtful but possible abilities.  It does bear upon her honesty.

I would like to see a campaign that is about real issues.  I also think that the problem of unwed pregnancy is sadly a real situation for more Americans than anyone would like to believe.  How either side would handle such a problem presents a real voting issue for many many people.  

On the other hand, if it were Obama and not Palin who had a 17 year old pregnant daughter, I can only imagine the hypocrisy that would be hurled at him. 

All just food for thought.

Okay, well I guess it was always possible that the rumors about Sarah Palin’s son being her grandson were not true.

But Bristol *is* pregnant, now.  I have a lot less to say about this.  I’m glad the Palin family is supporting her.

However.  This means that *if* Bristol isn’t really the mother of Trig, then the story of her delivering a speech, getting through airport security, boarding not one but a series of connecting flights back to Alaska, and engaging in otherwise risky behaviours during the labor and delivery of her fifth child – IS true.  And personally I think it’s a) implausible at best, and b) if true, horrible that she showed such lack of concern for the safe delivery of baby #5, whatever her reasons were.

She’s pro-life.  That is why she carried a Down’s Syndrome baby to term.  (Over 90% of Down’s Syndrome pregnancies are terminated – according to wikipedia.*)  Her behaviour between water breaking and delivery certainly indicates a lack of concern for the safety of the child, an inconsideration for the other passengers on the two flights that could have been grounded if she needed to be brought to a hospital mid-flight, not to mention for her own health.

This is infuriating, to say the least.

I just don’t buy it.  I think that maybe Bristol is 3 months pregnant, and being used as a convenient cover up to the original cover up.  It certainly is a resonably successful diversion to the rumor about Trig’s birth.

The bottom line is that no matter what is true, at this point, something is seriously wrong with Sarah Palin.

*A 2002 literature review of elective abortion rates found that 91–93% of pregnancies in the United States with a diagnosis of Down syndrome were terminated.