THIS JUST IN, SARA PALIN BECOMES GOP VP CANDIDATE

[Rian]

but i mean that in the nicest way possible.

:D

seriously, these are the guys you're acknowledging for the moral high ground? think about that for a minute.

As I said, there's a lot of nastiness on both sides. I think the liberals are worse. You don't.

was the "babygate" thing out of line? perhaps. was i a little to quick to buy into it? yeah, but in all fairness it seemed a whole lot more plausible at eleven minutes into the morning with a fair amount of Jack, Johnny, and Red Stripe in my system(couldn't afford Jameson).

Ya know, stick, it wasn't the babygate part that I objected to so much (if what you're referring to is the question of whether Trig was Sara's child or Bristol's child) because that involved the candidate and her choices that showed her character. The part that made me write my post was the parts that seemed to solely attack the candidate's daughter - the whole "knocked up" thing that just assumed right off the bat that the relationship wasn't a good one - that's why I asked if NHB actually knew anything about the relationship. I mean, I suppose technically my husband knocked me up three times, but there's a lot of negative connotations with that phrase, and I doubted if NHB was justified in using it at the time that he did. He still hasn't answered if he knew anything about the relationship when he wrote that little gem.

look, this is a women who engaged in some ridiculously risky behavior during the birth of her last child, and is taking a position which will eat up all of her time despite the fact that she's got a pregnant seventeen year old daughter and a newborn who's still dependent on her nipples as a food supply. and no, i don't feel it's sexist for me to say that.

I doubt if most liberals would agree with you, but I'm happy to see your opinion on this. There's hope for you yet! (please take that as it's meant - as a friendly ribbing from someone that usually holds an opposing viewpoint )

... the media scrutiny here is valid.

I agree.

[TheFonz]

This Palin stuff is ridiculous guys. I expected more from a group of intelligent and well read forum participants. Are you seriously talking about experience while supporting Obama. Come on! I really didn't want to get into this discussion because no one here will change there mind as we all have our political worldviews, but I couldn't let these comments slide by.
If you want to get into the details of these candidates personal lives, Obama has much more tabloid-worthy skeletons in his closet (i.e. William Ayers, lack of actual work in Illinois legislature, Black liberation theology, etc.).
It is ludicrous to evaluate Palin based on here daughters' sex lives. Have any of you been through high school? Did you experience life as a teenager?

[NH Baritone]

This Palin stuff is ridiculous guys. I expected more from a group of intelligent and well read forum participants. Are you seriously talking about experience while supporting Obama. Come on! I really didn't want to get into this discussion because no one here will change there mind as we all have our political worldviews, but I couldn't let these comments slide by.
If you want to get into the details of these candidates personal lives, Obama has much more tabloid-worthy skeletons in his closet (i.e. William Ayers, lack of actual work in Illinois legislature, Black liberation theology, etc.).
It is ludicrous to evaluate Palin based on here daughters' sex lives. Have any of you been through high school? Did you experience life as a teenager?

I don't have kids, but I have educated many youth on birth control & safer sex practices. Interestingly, Palin's policy is to oppose the distribution of such information. There's a good chance that Levi & Bristol would be able to face their lives as the teenagers they are had someone provided them with proper guidance on how to be sexual beings without becoming parents or CDC statistics.

[TheFonz]

This Palin stuff is ridiculous guys. I expected more from a group of intelligent and well read forum participants. Are you seriously talking about experience while supporting Obama. Come on! I really didn't want to get into this discussion because no one here will change there mind as we all have our political worldviews, but I couldn't let these comments slide by.
If you want to get into the details of these candidates personal lives, Obama has much more tabloid-worthy skeletons in his closet (i.e. William Ayers, lack of actual work in Illinois legislature, Black liberation theology, etc.).
It is ludicrous to evaluate Palin based on here daughters' sex lives. Have any of you been through high school? Did you experience life as a teenager?

I don't have kids, but I have educated many youth on birth control & safer sex practices. Interestingly, Palin's policy is to oppose the distribution of such information. There's a good chance that Levi & Bristol would be able to face their lives as the teenagers they are had someone provided them with proper guidance on how to be sexual beings without becoming parents or CDC statistics.

I don't entirely disagree NH.
I think there is a place in the schools and other public venues for sex education, although I think it should be limited. Additionally, it would be interesting to see the statistics on teenage pregnancy and STD's within the Christian community that refrains from sex ed in the schools versus those that support it. (if there is such a study)

[NH Baritone]

I don't have kids, but I have educated many youth on birth control & safer sex practices. Interestingly, Palin's policy is to oppose the distribution of such information. There's a good chance that Levi & Bristol would be able to face their lives as the teenagers they are had someone provided them with proper guidance on how to be sexual beings without becoming parents or CDC statistics.

I don't entirely disagree NH.
I think there is a place in the schools and other public venues for sex education, although I think it should be limited. Additionally, it would be interesting to see the statistics on teenage pregnancy and STD's within the Christian community that refrains from sex ed in the schools versus those that support it. (if there is such a study)

HERE is a synopsis of the various studies. (Again, Google ["sex education effectiveness"], first hit.) Some highlights from the article:

• By age 18, 70 percent of U.S. females and 62 percent of U.S. males have initiated vaginal sex.
  No abstinence-only-until-marriage program has been shown to help teens delay the initiation of sex or to protect themselves when they do initiate sex.
  Yet, the U.S. government has spent over one billion dollars supporting abstinence-only-until-marriage programs.
  
• Research has identified highly effective sex education and HIV prevention programs that affect multiple behaviors and/or achieve positive health impacts. Behavioral outcomes have included delaying the initiation of sex as well as reducing the frequency of sex, the number of new partners, and the incidence of unprotected sex, and/or increasing the use of condoms and contraception among sexually active participants. Long-term impacts have included lower STI and/or pregnancy rates.
• No highly effective sex education or HIV prevention education program is eligible for federal funding because mandates prohibit educating youth about the benefits of condoms and contraception.
• Evaluations of comprehensive sex education and HIV/ STI prevention programs show that they do not increase rates of sexual initiation, do not lower the age at which youth initiate sex, and do not increase the frequency of sex or the number of sex partners among sexually active youth.
• Between 1991 and 2004, the U.S. teen birth rate fell from 62 to 41per 1,000 female teens. ... Contraceptive use has been critical to reducing teenage pregnancy.
• According to Columbia University researchers, virginity pledge programs increase pledge-takers’ risk for STIs and pregnancy. The study concluded that 88 percent of pledge-takers initiated sex prior to marriage even though some delayed sex for a while. Rates of STIs among pledge-takers and non-pledgers were similar, even though pledge-takers initiated sex later. Pledge-takers were less likely to seek STI testing and less likely to use contraception when they did have sex.
• Evaluations of the effectiveness of state-funded abstinence-only-until-marriage programs found no delay in first sex. In fact, of six evaluations that assessed short-term changes in behavior, three found no changes, two found increased sexual activity from pre- to post-test, and one showed mixed results. Five evaluations looked for but found no long-term impact in reducing teens’ sexual activity.
• Analysis of data from Youth Risk Behavior surveys found that sexual activity among high school youth declined significantly from 1991 to 1997, prior to large-scale funding of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, but changed little from 1999 to 2003 with federal funding of such programs.
• In another recent survey, 94 percent of adults and 93 percent of parents said that sex education should cover contraception. Only 15 percent of Americans wanted abstinence-only education taught in the classroom.

[stickmangrit]

This Palin stuff is ridiculous guys. I expected more from a group of intelligent and well read forum participants. Are you seriously talking about experience while supporting Obama. Come on! I really didn't want to get into this discussion because no one here will change there mind as we all have our political worldviews, but I couldn't let these comments slide by.
If you want to get into the details of these candidates personal lives, Obama has much more tabloid-worthy skeletons in his closet (i.e. William Ayers, lack of actual work in Illinois legislature, Black liberation theology, etc.).
It is ludicrous to evaluate Palin based on here daughters' sex lives. Have any of you been through high school? Did you experience life as a teenager?

so wait, you're saying that teenagers will do stupid shit no matter how many times you tell them that god frowns on their bedroom shenanigans? wow, congrats sir, you just laid out THE ENTIRE ARGUMENT FOR COMPREHENSIVE SEX EDUCATION.

furthermore, McCain started the experience argument, and she comes nowhere near the bar HE set. combine this with the fact that she's publicly disagreed with him on ANWAR drilling and federal earmarks, praised Obama's energy plan, and is now being completely sequestered from the press and the whole thing reflects quite poorly on McCain's judgment.

evidently she'll be ready to lead on day one, but isn't quite prepared to handle Nerf softballs from Larry King.

[NH Baritone]

More news: Palin never had a passport until 2007, after she became governor and was duty-bound to visit the Alaska National Guard troops deployed to Germany and Kuwait.

Her international experience with Canada is a bit more extensive, but American citizens can drive to Canada with nothing more than a driver's license and a birth certificate. If we fly in, since 9/07 we've had to have a passport to come back in.

(Technically, Canadians don't require the passport to fly in, but the USA won't allow its own citizens back in the country without a US Passport.)

[Rian]

So ... posting first 5 of Palin's social security number, and hacking into her personal email ...

[Atheist37]

Governor Palin should ask Hillary Clinton how to deal with this stuff. Hillary has endured the most outrageous personal attacks, snide ridicule, invasions of her privacy, and outright hatred for years and years. What I mean to say is that American politics needs to be conducted with a lot more class and good manners. The debate should be on real issues. An involved and educated electorate is the cure, in my opinion.

[Mr. Sluagh]

LINK

Sara Palin, former TV news woman/runner up for Ms Alaska, has been chosen as McCain's veep pick. if victorious, this would put a 44 year old anti-abortion(even in the cases of rape, incest, horrific birth defects and risk to the mothers life), pro creationism-in-schools, pro-Obama-energy-plan mother of 5(youngest of which is a 4 month old with downs syndrome, wonder who'll look after him while she's on the campaign trail) whose total political experience consists of one year as governor of the most sparsely populated state in the union(Alaska) one 72 year old and potentially cancer-ridden heartbeat away from being president of the united states.

say it with me folks: President Barack Obama.

President Barack Obama!

[stickmangrit]

LINK

Sara Palin, former TV news woman/runner up for Ms Alaska, has been chosen as McCain's veep pick. if victorious, this would put a 44 year old anti-abortion(even in the cases of rape, incest, horrific birth defects and risk to the mothers life), pro creationism-in-schools, pro-Obama-energy-plan mother of 5(youngest of which is a 4 month old with downs syndrome, wonder who'll look after him while she's on the campaign trail) whose total political experience consists of one year as governor of the most sparsely populated state in the union(Alaska) one 72 year old and potentially cancer-ridden heartbeat away from being president of the united states.

say it with me folks: President Barack Obama.

four words:
I. FUCKING. CALLED IT

[NH Baritone]

LINK

Sara Palin, former TV news woman/runner up for Ms Alaska, has been chosen as McCain's veep pick. if victorious, this would put a 44 year old anti-abortion(even in the cases of rape, incest, horrific birth defects and risk to the mothers life), pro creationism-in-schools, pro-Obama-energy-plan mother of 5(youngest of which is a 4 month old with downs syndrome, wonder who'll look after him while she's on the campaign trail) whose total political experience consists of one year as governor of the most sparsely populated state in the union(Alaska) one 72 year old and potentially cancer-ridden heartbeat away from being president of the united states.

say it with me folks: President Barack Obama.

four words:
I. FUCKING. CALLED IT

One win, and suddenly you're a political genius?

Not that I'm not pleased with the outcome, though.

Now, do you expect her to win re-election in the governor's race in 2010?

[spongebob]

So true. It was obvious this election was Obama's to lose. Now begins the real work, however...