A 17-year-old Palestinian girl has been killed in Gaza by Israeli fire.Israeli occupation forces kill girl in Gaza :
A 17-year-old Palestinian girl has... more
"I am a mother of three children, married and Catholic.
Ms. Palin does not represent me as a woman living in the United States of America in 2008. She would not have in 1999 nor she would have represented my mother in 1970's but perhaps she would have been a perfect reflection of white women in the 1950's and therefore a perfect representative for them those generations ago where there was an unpopular war and people calling for real change, she would have been perfect then.
But we are not women of generations past, we are women of all shades of color living the embodiment of women who can call upon freedoms that no other country boasts.
We are the women of Gloria Steinem, we are the women of Susan Faludi and Eve Ensler. We hold our bodies and other women's choices with great respect and consider them not only private and personal but Holy in the face of government jurisdiction.
Alas we are NOT in the 1950's where, your gender, religion and the color of your skin mattered.
Or are we?
Where are the women for the fundamental right of choice? -They must be distracted, they must not know what Palin stands for politically and ethically.
I have become increasingly disturbed with not only Palin but the american people and the women who seem to be supporting her..."
See the rest at iReport.com!
"I am a mother of three children, married and Catholic.
Ms. Palin does not... more
Last night, Sarah Palin stepped up to the microphone and let loose a rip-roaring speech that thrilled the Republican convention and (dare we say it) impressed the media. The Alaska governor also clearly excited watchers at home—a huge number of people seemed to leap for their laptops as soon as the talk ended. Here's a rundown of the parts of the speech that sparked the most buzz online.
Hockey Moms,The eBay Jet,Snow Machine Race,Haberdasher,Community Organizer, and John Mc.Cain's middle name? Whats next?
Last night, Sarah Palin stepped up to the microphone and let loose a rip-roaring... more
You have got to check this out! I'm still to flushed to post a detailed comment, this was just months ago!You have got to check this out! I'm still to flushed to post a detailed comment, this... more
John McCain today announced a running mate whom he met only six months ago and whom he spoke with just once on the phone about the position before offering it in person earlier this week.
McCain’s first encounter with Sarah Palin came at a Washington meeting of the National Governors Association in February, according to a campaign-provided reconstruction of how the little-known Alaska governor was thrust into the national spotlight. The two discussed the position by phone on Sunday before McCain invited her and her husband to Arizona to formally make the offer. McCain, joined by his wife, Cindy, did just that yesterday morning at their home near Sedona, Ariz.
By picking somebody he and most Americans barely know — an out-of-the-blue decision that sent shock waves of disbelief through the political world and still has jaws agape — McCain has taken a considerable gamble.
The choice is historic, yes. Palin becomes only the second woman to run on a major-party ticket and the first Republican woman to do so. But it’s also fraught with risks.
Palin, 44, is less than two years removed from being mayor of Wasilla, Alaska; has no military or foreign policy experience in a time of grave international threat; and has never even appeared a single time on “Meet the Press,” let alone been scrutinized by a voracious and around-the-clock modern media beast.
Story continued at link...John McCain today announced a running mate whom he met only six months ago and whom he... more
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democrats are probably cobbling together the campaign ad right now: "John McCain's running mate is for big oil and against the environment," a somber voice intones as cute baby polar bears scamper across the screen.
If McCain hoped to stop Democrats from getting much mileage out of the oil issue in this presidential election, he picked the wrong vice presidential candidate.
His choice, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, comes from a state whose lifeblood is oil. Palin favors opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development, something McCain opposes. Her family even gets one of its paychecks from the oil industry: Palin's husband, Todd Palin, earned $46,790 last year as a facility operator for BP Alaska in Prudhoe Bay.
Oil and natural gas and the jobs they create are part and parcel of life in Alaska: "If you are not for opening ANWR, in the state of Alaska, you couldn't get elected dogcatcher," says former Alaska state Rep. Ray Metcalfe, a Republican-turned-Democrat who supports Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and anticipates Palin's critics will probably zero in on the oil drilling issue.
But that live-off-the-land culture is largely foreign to voters in the lower 48, who are paying high gas prices without the benefit of the oil royalty dividend checks that Alaskans get each year. Eligible Alaskans received $1,654 each in 2007.
Palin is so pro-energy that she actually praised Obama earlier this month for calling on the United States to work with the Canadian government to build an Alaska natural gas pipeline.
Story continued at link...WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democrats are probably cobbling together the campaign ad right now:... more
Republican presumptive presidential nominee John McCain introduced first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate here Friday at a raucous rally before thousands of his supporters.
Citing her "strong principles, fighting spirit and deep compassion,'" McCain said the 44-year-old Palin is "exactly who I need; she's exactly who this country needs to help me fight the same old Washington politics of me first and country second."
_______________________
A couple of questions: Where does Gov. Palin stand on allowing oil drilling in ANWR? What is her overall stance on environmental issues? What is the latest on the investigation into the firing of her ex-brother-in-law who was a state trooper in Alaska?
Palin, like about 60 percent of Alaska voters, favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Her environmental credentials are, at best, mixed. She favors what we in Alaska call "predator control," including, gif necessary, the hunting of wolves from the air. Just recently her Dept. of Fish and Game pulled some wolf cubs from their den and shot them as part of a program to improve moose survival.
She also opposes the listing of the polar bear as an endangered species.
_______________________
What are Governor Palin's three greatest strengths? What are her three greatest weaknesses?
She is smart, vivacious and energetic; she tends to oversimplify complex issues, has had difficulty delegating authority, and clearly has difficulty distinguishing the line between her public responsibilities and private wishes. She is under legislative investigation on this, the so-called "troopergate" issue, in which she is said to have used improper influence to try to get her sister's ex-husband fired from the state troopers. Republican presumptive presidential nominee John McCain introduced first-term Alaska... more
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) -- In two short years, Sarah Palin moved from small-town mayor with a taste for mooseburgers to the governor's office and now - making history - to John McCain's side as the first female running mate on a Republican presidential ticket.
She has more experience catching fish than dealing with foreign policy or national affairs.
Talk about a rocketing ascent.
In turning to her, McCain picked an independent figure in his own mold, one who has taken on Alaska's powerful oil industry and, at age 44, is three years younger than Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and a generation younger than McCain, 72.
Palin's selection was a jaw-dropper, as McCain passed over many other better known prospects, some of whom had been the subject of intense speculation for weeks or months. "Holy cow," said her father, Chuck Heath, who got word something was up while driving to his remote hunting camp.
Palin had been in the running-mate field but as a distinct long shot.
She brings a strong anti-abortion stance to the ticket and opposes gay marriage - constitutionally banned in Alaska before her time - but exercised a veto that essentially granted benefits to gay state employees and their partners.JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) -- In two short years, Sarah Palin moved from small-town mayor... more
DENVER (AP) -- John McCain said Thursday he had yet to decide on a running mate.
The Republican presidential candidate has a rally scheduled for Saturday in Pennsylvania, where he is expected to appear with his newly announced vice presidential choice. He said in the interview that he was bringing both former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, two of the leading names on his short list.
But he cautioned against assuming that meant either one would be the pick.
"I haven't decided yet so I can't tell you," he told KDKA NewsRadio in Pittsburgh early Thursday.
However, McCain talked glowingly of Ridge, a longtime friend who has been a frequent presence at his side during the campaign.
"He's a great American and a great and dear friend and I rely on him and I have for many years," McCain said.
Asked to hint which way he is leaning, McCain turned - as he has for days - to a joke, saying it would be actor Wilford Brimley.
"He's a former Marine and great guy and he's older than I am, so that might work," McCain said.DENVER (AP) -- John McCain said Thursday he had yet to decide on a running mate.... more
Mark Halperin set off tremors in the political world last night by reporting via two Republicans that John McCain had settled on Mitt Romney to be his running mate.
Top sources in McCainworld, though, say this morning that no final decision has been made.
There are mixed signals at this point as to whether Romney has emerged as the favorite.
That seems to be the "body language" from the small group of aides who McCain is consulting on the decision, a GOP source says.
And that interpretation was reinforced when word spread among Romney loyalists last night that the vice presidential rollout tour included Michigan.
But Michigan is a battleground, and the tour also includes a stop in the swing state of Ohio a week from today.
Making matters more confusing, Politico has learned that McCain will visit suburban St. Louis for a major rally with Romney and his still-bitter primary nemesis Mike Huckabee on Sunday, Aug. 31, the day before the start of the GOP convention.
Top Missouri Republicans yesterday received the invitation for a rally featuring McCain and his two top primary challengers. They'll be joined by country star John Rich at a minor league baseball stadium in O'Fallon, Mo., about 35 miles west of St. Louis.
Missouri was hard-fought territory on Super Tuesday, with each of the three Republicans faring well. So the event would seem to represent a pre-convention unity rally in a swing state where each has a strong following. But Huckabee and Romney can hardly stand one another, and Huckabee has warned twice this month against selecting his once and perhaps future rival.
It would take a considerable act of pride-swallowing for Huckabee to stand before thousands of fans and watch as McCain touts Romney as his running mate.
But then it would take the same amount of magnamity for Romney to join such a rally the day before the convention if McCain were to tap somebody else as his veep choice and then laud that person in Missouri. Mark Halperin set off tremors in the political world last night by reporting via two... more
WASHINGTON (AP) -- When Barack Obama shows up Saturday in Springfield, Ill., on his way to the Democratic Convention, he'll have his new running mate grinning beside him. But that man or woman is still unknown, even as speculation rises to a fever pitch.
Same with John McCain, just days away from his Republican convention.
A big reason the jobs are still open: The contenders believed to be still in the running could pose significant risks as well as helping the presidential candidates.
For Obama, for instance, picking a senator like Delaware's Joe Biden or Indiana's Evan Bayh would bring experience to the ticket but would also make it harder to emphasize his own signature campaign theme of change.
For McCain, former rival Mitt Romney would bring economic experience and ties to battleground Michigan. But Romney has his detractors, even among Republicans, and McCain's primary-season attacks on him would provide ammunition for Democrats.
For all the talk, running mates seldom are a factor in November outcomes. A party's No. 2 hasn't played a truly key role since John F. Kennedy chose Lyndon Johnson in 1960.
But the selection is the most important decision each candidate makes before formally gaining his party's nomination, and it could reveal much about his judgment.WASHINGTON (AP) -- When Barack Obama shows up Saturday in Springfield, Ill., on his... more
The most painful clip from the Sunday morning shows: top McCain VP prospect Mark Sanford "drawing a blank" (in his own words) on live TV when asked to name a major economic policy that President Bush and John McCain disagree on.The most painful clip from the Sunday morning shows: top McCain VP prospect Mark... more