Let's Abort this Shit, Shall We?

POSTED BY JHW22

My cousin sent me a message asking for debunking back up. The crap she wanted to challenge was essentially about Planned Parenthood and the "Planned Parenthood profit" myth. Considering the amount of profit reported in the many intertube rumors shifts between $400 million and $100 million dollars, one is compelled to ask: if there is a massive discrepancy in the amount supposedly profited, don't ya think maybe the fact that there is a profit is questionable?

So anywho, I sent her a 990 form that shows exactly what Planned Parenthood brought in and what it sent out. That seemed like a reasonable thing to do. But you know what they say about reasoning... Anyway, there is no profit in a non-profit. And if anyone wants to read through this gazillion page 990, you can see that they spent a boat load of cash on preventative and health care programs. And if they had any money left over at the end of the year, it was properly re-absorbed in ways that can limit how much they get from the Feds the next year.

And of course I addressed the whole Hyde Amendment thingy-ma-bob. Which, if you are reading this, you SHOULD know what that is.

So then I addressed the millions of birth control services PP provides a year and disclaimed that with, you know, the reality that the more birth control there is the fewer abortions there are. Considering I was sending this message through my cousin to the idiot who posted the freakout, I hope my "you big dumbass" tone made it through. I also pointed out the thousands of lives saved through cancer screenings but I'm not sure why I pointed that out. The only life that is sacred is that of an unborn fetus and not a woman's who discovers she has cervical cancer after a Planned Parenthood medical professional swipes her cervix with a damn bristle brush.

And then I decided to bring up the one thing my cousin's friend left out of her original crap rant, a point I've heard raised again and again: Cecile Richards' salary. I consider this move a preemptive strike. You see, a lot of anti-Planned Parenthood (which is ironically named since APPARENTLY they only PREVENT parenthood according to some idiots) folks seems outraged over how much PP pays Ms. Richards, their president. She makes about $300k a year. That's a nice chunk of cash. Wow. I wish I made that much. And wow, she'd be the perfect candidate for that Bush tax cut... but I digress. Anyway, they don't like that she makes so much money considering PP gets federal money -- funny, the same people didn't seem bothered that heads of bailed-out banks made MILLIONS and that was all funded by the government. Well, they were mad about the bail-outs but didn't want the government to set salaries or decided how that tax-funded income should be taxed. Again, I digress...

So back to my preemptive strike of Cecile Richards' salary and how, gosh darn it, how can we use government money to subsidize an organization that pays a woman a lot of money to Plan Parenthood!?!

Enter, The Candies Foundation and ... ta da... Bristol Palin. Yep, a formerly knocked-up teen made almost as much money as the president of a national organization that serves MILLIONS of women each year to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Yep, Bristol, the poor suffering teenage single mom made almost as much as a college-educated executive.

And guess what? The Candies Foundation is a Public Charity -- meaning they collect federal dollars. And guess what? They spent only about $40k in funding to actual programs to prevent pregnancies. Obviously you can't compare the incoming and outgoing moolah between the two organizations. But when you compare apples to apples, Candies spent BUCKETS on Bristol and pits on programs. Whereas, Planned Parenthood spent a bucket on staffing and shitload of buckets on programs.

Just a little funny. Just a little ironic.

And I should probably disclose that I am still a great fan of Cecile Richards' late mother and tend to get bristly when Cecile is attacked by dumb-asses.

Brain Dump

POSTED BY JHW22

OK, so I've been away for a while and that last post felt good. But I need to get a few things out that aren't really post-worthy. More reflection and curiosity than anything deep and thoughtful:

I fear I am inadvertently raising a Republican. My child hates change. He likes the Christmas tree but is mad that I moved a bookshelf to put the tree up. He hates when I change throw pillows. He hates the new toothpaste. He falls apart over transitions. He falls into ritualistic OCD. SEE! He's a Republican. What am I doing wrong? ;)

Why did Bristol Palin drive to LA for DWTS? Her mom flies all over the country on private jets and she can't bother to send her kid to LA on a plane? Is it so she could have a "truck" in LA? Or was it just for a story? And really, a truck? Who is she? Scott Brown?

Did people call Laura Bush a fascist for encouraging parents to read to their children? No. So why can't Michelle Obama encourage healthy eating and *gasp* exercise without being labeled a Nazi? I have a friend in a small red-state town who seriously fell into the trap of blaming Michelle Obama for the cafeteria menu changing to things her kid hates. The whole town is in an uproar over Michelle Obama personally changing every elementary school menu in the country. Yet, I don't hear them yelling at Rachel Ray for doing the same thing. Shame on that hyperactive speed-cooker for trying to discourage crappy eating habits. Personal freedom means being able to raise an obese child if a parent chooses. Don't tread on them and don't make them use a treadmill, damn it.

Wikileaks: Someone needs to plug that leak. Transparency is one thing. Theft is another. And really, it pisses me off that it's not even an American who has single-handedly decided what to do with our documents.

I cheer each time a judge determines that the health care law isn't unconstitutional.

The DADT study is exactly what I thought it was going to be: a review of what the effects of repeal will be and how to move forward. I wish people like Rachel Maddow and Bill Press, etc, etc, would have realized that sooner rather than acting as if it were a survey about whether to repeal. They really ranted about a lot of nonsense. Much Ado About Nada.

I like Secretary Gates.

I think I'll be writing another Palin post soon. Trying to figure out how to write something thorough and organized. I tend to lose my mind when thinking about her and I want to be clear and linear and make relevant connections. Trying to manage that when discussing the walking chaos factory is hard.

So Classy, Those Palins

DWTS third-place finisher on Tuesday night was Bristol Palin and she had some choice comments to make before finding out, according to Entertainment Weekly (EW).

Bristol Palin likened a "DWTS" win to giving her detractors--and that of her mother Sarah Palin of "Sarah Palin's Alaska" a "big middle finger."

"...a big middle finger to all the people out there who hate my mom and hate me," Bristol said.

And this is why Sarah Palin will never be President. You can't win anything with 30% of the vote.

Sarah 2012! RUN, SARAH! RUN!

ADDING... Can you imagine the outrage if this quote was coming out of the mouth of Sasha or Malia Obama? Did Chelsea Clinton ever threaten to flip someone the bird when people criticized her mother during the 2008 campaign?

There's a certain decorum children of people aspiring to the highest office in the land should have, and so far with Bristol's foray on Dancing with the Stars while neither being a dancer nor a star, and Willow calling people "faggots" on her Facebook page, they are far from that demeanor. On whom does that reflect badly?

The Palin Bump - UPDATED

I don't watch Dancing With The Stars because if I'm going to watch a dance show, I'm going to spend my time watching real dancers doing things I could never do (So You Think You Can Dance, for example) instead of gawking at C-list celebrities awkwardly stepping about.

So imagine my surprise that A) the current season of DWTS was still going and B) Bristol Palin was still in it!  The only reason I know this is because for some strange reason, the news media continues to cover all things Palin, even the teenage mom flailing about on a stage. The reason I'm surprised is because after catching clips of Bristol in her initial couple of dances shaking her stuff, I thought she was pretty awful as dance shows go. And it looks as though the voting audience agrees, as Palin's performances have come in at the bottom of the list consistently for the last few weeks.

So now the inevitable question has come into play: Is Bristol Palin remaining in the game solely because of her name, because her mom is Sarah Palin, and because ardent Mama Grizzly supporters are calling in to help her cub?

My opinion is an obvious yes. But if I'm wrong, someone please correct me. Since I can't stomach the show, what are the judging and voting formats? And is Bristol underrated or is she as bad as I think she is in comparison to the other remaining contestants?

ADDING... I'm not suggesting Sarah Palin is using her position to garner votes for her daughter, just that Sarah supporters are doing it on their own.

UPDATE (11/17/10, 12:55pm): See? I knew she was a bad dancer.

Man Shoots TV Over Bristol's 'Dancing' Routine

A SWAT team posted up outside a home in Wisconsin yesterday -- after a shotgun toting 67-year-old man blasted his TV because he was so enraged with Bristol Palin's performance on "Dancing with the Stars."

Media Whore

Like mother, like daughter.

..."The final straw was him flying to Hollywood for what he told me was to see some hunting show but come to find out it was that music video mocking my family," [Bristol Palin] says [of Levi Johnston]. "He's just obsessed with the limelight and I got played."

That was then... this is now.

We can report to you exclusively that Sarah Palin's 19-year-old daughter Bristol Palin has been cast on the 11th season of ["Dancing With The Stars,"] set to premiere Sept. 20.

Doesn't the "Stars" part of the show title constitute contestants being "stars" in the first place?

Oh, The Humanity!

"It's over. I broke up with him," Bristol Palin tells PEOPLE exclusively of her second try at an engagement to Levi Johnston, father of her 19-month-old son Tripp.

..."The final straw was him flying to Hollywood for what he told me was to see some hunting show but come to find out it was that music video mocking my family," she says. "He's just obsessed with the limelight and I got played."

Oh, Bristol... a hunting show? ...In HOLLYWOOD?!  At least we know you take after your mom in the brains department.

And here I was all set to watch the Wasilla Wedding on television, just like Charles and Diana, except with sled dogs instead of horse drawn carriages.  And she couldn't wear white.  And Levi in his hunting jacket plaid tuxedo.  And you know it would have been televised; I doubt that the Palins would have shut out the press the way those snooty, elitist Clintons did. There's no such thing as bad publicity after all.  Speaking of which... whatever happened to that Palin/Alaska reality series? Has than been canned yet?

UPDATE (8/4/10 9:25am): JHW22 makes a great point in the comments:

Bristol has already spoken with People and TMZ and Levi hasn't spoken to anyone. YET she suggests he is the media whore and blames his seeking the limelight as part of the reason for the break-up! She told celebrity mags and he is the media whore? When will that family just stop!?!

Like mother like daughter?

Make. It. STOP!

Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin are already looking to bring outsiders into their upcoming marriage -- in the form of a reality TV crew ... this according to a source very familiar with the negotiations.

TMZ has learned the couple has been shopping "multiple reality shows" around town -- some of the ideas involve the couple AND their two-year-old son, Tripp.

We're told the leading concept involves all three people -- and will focus on "parenting issues."

Nothing to see here folks. Just another white trash attempt at financial opportunity, you know, because America is the land of opportunity... unless you're "colored." If I hear Mama Grizzly talk about how the "lamestream media" should leave her cub pack alone, I'm going to put a bullet in my brain.

So... show titles, anyone?

The Wasilla Hillbillies?
Wasilla 99654?
Northern Overexposure?

Pawns and Shields

POSTED BY JHW22

It was just over a year ago when I first heard Sarah Palin refer to herself as a “Mama Grizzly”. Today it is her platform. Along with “pink elephants” (do these people not think to check the history of phrases like tea bagging and pink elephants before they use them) Sarah says that “Mama Grizzlies” -- aka pissed off mamas -- will be marching into power to take back America from the socialists she hates. Granted, she never presents better ideas, or any ideas for that matter. What she gives us is an emotional tug as her platform. Being a mom is and has always been her platform. I’m a mom of five -- one a “chosen” special needs baby and one a pregnant teen -- vote for me. She is a mom. She tackled jobs as mayor and governor as a mom to infants under the desk. Wow. What a symbol of feminism. A working mom. She is a mom. And not just any mom: she’s a mama grizzly who protects her young. She’s a mom.

So if that’s how she defines herself, why can’t we talk about her choices as a mom? Why, if we talk about her as a mom, does she twist it into we are talking about her kids? Tricky move, Palin. You see, she sets herself up as a mom so that we can’t challenge her without being accused of going after her family. It’s because she uses her children as pawns and shields.

The first time I recall the “Mama Grizzly” reference was when David Letterman made a wide-arching joke about Bristol Palin. At the time, Bristol was an adult making the circuit telling her story about getting pregnant while an unmarried teen. Everyone who heard the joke KNEW it was about Bristol. But Sarah Palin decided to warp the joke to mean it was about her 14-year-old daughter, Willow, and rape. So what she did was plant the idea of her young daughter getting raped in the minds of Americans. David Letterman didn’t make me think of Willow being raped, but Sarah did. Why? So she could have a public feud with a talk show host. That’s all. It wasn’t about young women and rape (just look into the Wasilla policy that charged women for their own rape kits while she was mayor). But because the issue was so touchy, we couldn’t make too big of a deal about Sarah’s use of Willow as a pawn and a shield without appearing as if we condoned the rape of girls.

Now, it’s true that every politician parades their families in front of cameras to show their family values. Palin is no different there. So having her children at the announcement of her as McCain’s running mate wasn’t a big deal. Trying to hide her daughter’s bump – not a big deal. But when internet sites started focusing on the Alaska scuttlebutt of Bristol’s pregnancy, what did Mama Grizzly do? She told the world her daughter was an unmarried teen. Considering what the right-wing media did to Jamie Lynn Spears (younger sister of Britney, who got pregnant as a teen and faced the wrath of Fox News) I would think a Mama Grizzly would have declined the McCain offer and considered what the campaign would do to her daughter. But no. She threw her daughter to the wolves! She MADE her daughter a target of gossip and judgment and at the same time criticized anyone who tried discussing the relevancy of this to a “no sex ed in schools” candidate. We couldn’t even mention Sarah’s hypocrisy without being accused of being mean to Bristol. Again, you can’t talk about Sarah as a mother without her twisting it into an assault on her pawn and shield, oops, I mean child.

And then there’s “retard”. And by that, I mean a word. The word retard means to slow or delay. It does not mean Downs Syndrome. It does not mean Trig Palin. I, personally, do not like to use the word “retard” as a pejorative, having worked with special needs kids and knowing the negative connotation behind its use. When Rahm Emanuel used the word, it had NOTHING to do with Trig Palin yet Sarah Palin made it all about her son. When people in her own party used it, she was silent. She politicized her son. She used him as a pawn and shield. And as of this posting all she has publicly done for kids with special needs is make some speeches and small donations. Is that the advocacy she promised? I'd like someone in the "lame-stream media" to ask her about it but no one will because of the pawn and shield game.

But let’s get to the real issue that everyone is afraid to discuss because she made it impossible to do so. The woman who made being a mother one of the top three things that qualifies her to speak for “real Americans” in whatever capacity she’s considering, has not been challenged on what may be THE choice that should define her. I am not talking about her “choice” to have a special needs baby despite the false claims on the right that a liberal would have aborted. I am talking about her “choice” to get on a plane and fly from Texas to Alaska, while in her 40’s, having had two miscarriages and in PRE-TERM LABOR (including leaking amniotic fluid and contractions per her interviews and her auto-biography starting on page 193 of Going Rogue) with a baby known to have Downs Syndrome, without being seen by a doctor.

She awoke early in the morning feeling weird, leaking and having contractions. She was worried enough to call her doctor all the way over in Alaska and pray for the unborn baby. Yet, she didn’t go to a hospital to make sure the baby was safe. Instead she gave a speech and got on a plane.

What kind of “Mama Grizzly” does that? But we aren’t allowed to talk about it because that’s somehow an affront to Trig. No. The affront to Trig was when she decided to risk his life for… for… for I don’t even know what.

So, now that she has released her “Mama Grizzly” video, void of solutions to our problems, can we NOW ask questions about her “choices” as a mom? NOW can we ask her how protective she was being on “The Wild Ride”? Or would that be one more attack on her child? NOW can we ask her why she chose to put her daughters in the national spotlight over controversial issues for political gain?

This isn’t about her kids and it never was. This is about Sarah Palin. And it’s time we reminded her of that and it’s time the media realized that and asked some damn questions.

We aren’t after the pawns and shields.

We’re after the Mama Grizzly.

Oops...

Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston are engaged, and they've shared the news on the cover of Us Weekly, seen below. They have not shared the news with Bristol's mom Sarah Palin, who has mocked Levi as "Ricky Hollywood" and poked at his "aspiring porn" career.

Bristol tell the glossy, "It is intimidating and scary just to think about what her reaction is going to be. Hopefully she will jump on board."

Uh... I don't know if Mama Grizzly is going to be so pleased. And all I can say is... HAAHAHAHAAHAAHAAAAAA!!!

ADDING... There are those who think this is one small step in the Rehabilitation of Sarah Palin's Image for an eventual run in 2012. I don't necessarily doubt that, but one has to be a complete moron not to see right through it. How can Sarah be happy for her daughter if she's completely trashed Bristol's future husband in the public eye nonstop? But then again, judging by Sarah's following, there are plenty of morons out there to be had.

The Definition of Irony - UPDATED

Sarah Palin. On the cover of a magazine. Titled, "IN TOUCH." And Getting paid $100,000 for it. Because she's just like us. And Bristol is in touch as well.

NY POST: ...in a classic example of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted, Bristol -- who gave birth to son Tripp in 2008 after a brief liaison with Playgirl-posing flop Levi Johnston -- told In Touch the experience has made her a born-again virgin and announced, "I'm not going to have sex until I'm married. I can guarantee it."

Some genies (and hymens) can't be put back in the bottle. Completely In Touch.

ADDING... This quote kills me.



Yes, Palin ladies. The operative word is CHOSE. You had a choice. And you choose to deny others their choice.

There Goes The Neighborhood

Picture the really annoying family that lives on the block that ruins what would otherwise be a fun neighborhood to live in. You know the ones. Everyone has those types of neighbors driving down property values. They are the reason, "There goes the neighborhood" became a catchphrase. They have regular shouting matches in the driveway. They leave garbage in their backyard after a barbecue that attracts rodents which soon infest your own yard. They have the police pulling up to their house once every couple of weeks in the middle of the night to settle a domestic dispute. You don't want your children playing with their children for fear of them being a bad influence on your kids, be it disrespect... or drugs... or lice. Or scabies.

Meet the Palins. The Wasilla Hillbillies. There goes the neighborhood.

This past week, Late Night host David Letterman made a couple of crude jokes at the expense of the Palins. Specifically the joke in question was, "Sarah Palin went to a Yankees game yesterday. There was one awkward moment. During the 7th inning stretch, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodgriguez."

In response, Todd Palin released a statement: “Any 'jokes' about raping my 14-year-old are despicable. Alaskans know it and I believe the rest of the world knows it, too.”

Raping my 14-year-old daughter? A bit over the top, eh Todd?

Letterman discussed the whole situation at length in what I view as a half-hearted apology. I say half-hearted because the Palins made the joke something which it wasn't, and although he called the jokes "ugly," Letterman wasn't so much apologizing as explaining the truth of the matter. 14-year-old Willow Palin was not the subject of the joke. Something the Palins seem to skirt around.



They could have taken the high road, accepted the apology and left it alone. But no, they decided to make this an issue that it wasn't about, while insinuating that Letterman can't be trusted with underage girls. It's pathetic. The Palins' continuation of this fiasco with their idiotic press releases and Sarah Palin's appearance on the Today Show further exemplifies the opportunists that they are.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Enough of the feigned outrage. Anyone who has any sense of humor at all knows that this joke, although in poor taste, was not meant for Willow. Did everyone forget about Bristol Palin? Apparently her own mother, Sarah Palin did.

"I would say that you and anybody else are extremely naive to believe that very convenient excuse of David Letterman's the other day - it took a couple of days for him to think of that excuse that - uh, no he wasn't talking about my daughter who was there with me at the game, the 14-year-old, he was talking about some other daughter. Well I think it's a weak excuse."

Yes, Sarah, the "other daughter." Remember the one named Bristol that you exploited during your campaign? Bristol, your "other daughter" that actually did get "knocked up" and is now laughably pushed out into the spotlight as an advocate for ABSTINENCE?! Your "other daughter," Bristol, that you were forcing to marry off to Levi Johnston and trotted them out as Margaret Carlson said, "like the Charles and Diana of the Klondike" until you lost the election. Where's Levi now? Discarded. Conveniently out of the family portrait.

And not that it matters but guess what? Not everyone knows exactly who attended the Yankees game despite the fact that Sarah Palin thinks we await her every move with bated breath. When I heard the joke, it was obvious that the daughter inferred was Bristol, the knocked up abstinence advocate, and that the real butt of the joke was Alex Rodriguez.

Sarah and Todd Palin are the ones who interjected 14-year-old Willow into this faux controversy, not Letterman. Why? Because they can't stand being ignored. During the campaign they felt the national spotlight, and it was good, and now they need the national spotlight, even though under that bright light, every ugly deed and deceitful lie uttered is more easily revealed for all to see than when sitting in seclusion in Alaska.

Is this the future of the Republican Party? Sarah Palin in 2012, with her run-on sentence rants and her penchant for playing Hatfield/McCoy on the national stage? I'm guessing the Democratic National Committee is dreaming of it. I actually think that her act will get old and tired pretty fast and that she'll burn herself out by then. At least I hope so, because if I have to listen to her jibberish for three more years, I'm going to contemplate putting a bullet in my brain.

First Brad and Jennifer, Now This!

USA Today: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's teen daughter Bristol, whose pregnancy out of wedlock caused a minor brouhaha during the 2008 presidential election campaign, has broken up with the baby's father, People.com and Star magazine's website reported Wednesday.
Bristol Palin previously said she expected to marry Levi Johnston once they were finished with high school. Their baby son, Tripp, was born two months ago.

Oh, the horror...

Pallin' Around With Drug Dealers - UPDATED

It seems Bristol Palin is marrying into a family whose future* mother in law is a cyrstal meth drug dealer.

The mother of Levi Johnston, the Wasilla teenager who is the father of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter's unborn child, was arrested Thursday on drug charges.

The Anchorage Daily News reported Friday that Sherry L. Johnston, 42, was arrested by Alaska State Troopers at her Wasilla home and charged with six felony counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance.

So, using Sarah Palin's guilt by association logic, it seems she's been pallin' around with drug dealers in her hometown of Wasilla, the crystal meth capital of Alaska. And this on the day before Bristol's due date.

If it's a girl, I hope they name her Crystal. I guess it's the thing to do up there considering Levi's mom was named after his grandmother's favorite cooking wine.

(*Levi Johnston and Bristol are still not married.)


UPDATE (10:10pm): Thanks to commenter Chris for bringing this to my attention. It seems that Sherry Johnston's drug arrest is oxycontin related, which means that Rush Limbaugh will most likely vigorously defend her to his death, which in my opinion can't come soon enough. Still doesn't change the fact the Miss Wasilla is pallin' around with drug dealers.

Write Your Own Caption

I have two:

"If I lose this election, I'm going to have you killed, my friend."

OR

"So you're the little redneck bastard that fucked up my VP choice."

Bristol Palin CHOOSES To Have Her Baby

1 - The McCainstream Media nor anyone other than the Palin family and the McCain campaign brought this up. Remember that when you hear the right wing attempt to make this about Bristol's right to privacy and accuse the Democrats of exploiting the issue.

Here is the statement:

"Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents," Sarah and Todd Palin said in the brief statement. "Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family," they added.

Barack Obama's statement:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Monday the pregnancy of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s daughter was not relevant to the campaign and reporters should back off of it...

“People’s families are off-limits and people’s children are especially off-limits,” Obama told reporters following a campaign event in Monroe, Michigan. “This shouldn’t be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin’s performance as a governor or potential performance as a vice president. So I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories,” he added.

... A senior McCain campaign aide was quoted in the Reuters story as suggesting that Obama’s campaign was linked to the bloggers who were spreading the rumors.

“I am offended by that statement,” Obama said when asked about it by a reporter. “There is no evidence at all that any of this involved us. Our people were not involved in any way in this and they will not be,” he added. “And if I ever thought there was somebody in my campaign that was involved in something like that, they’d be fired.”

Subject closed.

2 - According to the Palin family statement, Bristol Palin made the "decision"? What decision? I thought Pro-Lifers didn't have a decision to make.

3 - Roe v. Wade protects PRIVACY, which is why this matter should be dropped and not politicized in terms of speaking about Bristol, but isn't it fair game to question Sarah Palin about her Pro-Life stance and ask, "Why is it okay for you or your daughter to CHOOSE to have a baby, but it's not okay to CHOOSE to have an abortion?"

It's called "Pro-Choice" not "Pro-Abortion." Abortion is not the issue. The right to have a CHOICE and the right to PRIVACY in making that choice are the issues.

UPDATE (9/2/08 9am):

A commenter named "Reality Based" on Jake Tapper's blog makes a very articulate point... a lot more articulate than I did late last night after a day of barbeque and beer:

You know, ordinarily I’d agree with the proposition that a candidate's children matters should be generally off limits. But in this case the McCain/Palin campaign has made it absolutely relevant by trumpeting Palin’s family life and “authenticity” as some sort of qualification to the vice-presidency, and thus the presidency. Palin rides shotgun on the fundie’s wet dreams of banning abortion and punishing premarital sex. Then her own teenage daughter has an unplanned pregnancy, and she “chooses” to keep the baby (a choice that Palin would deny MY daughter). It is not inappropriate to point out the arrogance and mean-spiritedness on display here.

Absofuckinlutely.