Sarah Palin Action Planning Meeting TODAY in Jackson

>> TIME TO MOVE!
Please attend an organizing meeting for the
Girls and Women for Obama show of support
to coincide with the Sarah Palin Fundraiser
presently scheduled for September 24 at Teton Pines
All those who can help plan, execute and attend a hand-in-hand show of support for Obama that will line the bike path to the entrance of Teton Pines please attend this meeting. Women outside of Teton County are encouraged to come so contact all whom you think could join in.
Wednesday, September 17 @11:30
Oswald Gallery
165 North Center Street
Please bring friends, ideas and commitment (lipstick, optional)
Questions/comments please contact Mary Woollen mjwoollen@msn.com
.

Give to PP in Palin's Name!

This great idea came via my friend Kirsten:

Make a donation to Planned Parenthood. In Sarah Palin's name.
And here's the good part: when you make a donation to PP in her
name, they'll send her a card telling her that the donation has
been made in her honor. Here's the link to the Planned
Parenthood website:

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/

You'll need to fill in the address to let PP know where to send
the "in Sarah Palin's honor" card. I suggest you use the address
for the McCain campaign headquarters, which is:

McCain for President
1235 S. Clark Street
1st Floor
Arlington , VA 22202
.

Katha's Tough Qs for Sarah: Pass It On!

Katha Pollitt asks Sarah Palin some doozy questions in her latest Nation column, "Lipstick on a Wing Nut". Oh, if only Sarah would reply!:

§ Suppose your 14-year-old daughter Willow is brutally raped in her bedroom by an intruder. She becomes pregnant and wants an abortion. Could you tell the parents of America why you think your child and their children should be forced by law to have their rapists' babies?

§ You say you don't believe global warming is man-made. Could you tell us what scientists you've spoken with or read who have led you to that conclusion? What do you think the 2,500 scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are getting wrong?

§ If you didn't try to fire Wasilla librarian Mary Ellen Baker over her refusal to consider censoring books, why did you try to fire her?

§ What is the European Union, and how does it function?

§ Forty-seven million Americans lack health insurance. John Goodman, who has advised McCain on healthcare, has proposed redefining them as covered because, he says, anyone can get care at an ER. Do you agree with him?

§ What is the function of the Federal Reserve?

§ Cindy and John McCain say you have experience in foreign affairs because Alaska is next to Russia. When did you last speak with Prime Minister Putin, and what did you talk about?

§ Approximately how old is the earth? Five thousand years? 10,000? 5 billion?

§ You are a big fan of President Bush, so why didn't you mention him even once in your convention speech?

§ McCain says cutting earmarks and waste will make up for revenues lost by making the tax cuts permanent. Experts say that won't wash. Balancing the Bush tax cuts plus new ones proposed by McCain would most likely mean cutting Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security. Which would you cut?

§ You're suing the federal government to have polar bears removed from the endangered species list, even as Alaska's northern coastal ice is melting and falling into the sea. Can you explain the science behind your decision?

§ You've suggested that God approves of the Iraq War and the Alaska pipeline. How do you know?

.

Paris Does D.C.

I'm a latecomer to this whole McCain v. Paris Hilton wrangle. I just read up on the face-off on The Nation, and I watched Paris Hilton's comeback to McCain's put-down of her. I never thought I'd hear myself say this but, I *heart* Paris Hilton!

And Your Point Is? Right to Life of TC ad - Planet JH 6/25/08

I'm not sure why we continually need to be informed when the fetal heart starts beating, or when blood begins to flow, etc. Should this make a difference to me? The fetus, tiny body, mass of cells, whatever you want to call it, is living inside someone else's body. Forcing the woman to continue to carry it when she does not want to is completely offensive to personal freedom.

The whole "tiny babies" thing is getting really old for me. Lots of folks have latched onto this turn of phrase lately, including that wingnut Dobson from Focus on the Family. His critique of one of Barack Obama's recent speeches was terribly judgmental for a professed Christian.


#

Race v. Gender redux

I wanted to share this excellent analysis by Betsy Reed (The Nation) of the way Hillary Clinton's campaign has used race as a wedge issue against Barack Obama.

Reed deftly looks at many sides of the race/gender divide -- and implicates Hillary in helping to create that divide, which was not a major issue at the beginning of the primary race. She gives voice to my own misgivings about Hillary, as well as my suspicion that some men support Obama because they are more comfortable with his gender.

The support Obama has seen in Teton County is revolutionary. Growing up here in Jackson, I heard tales of one black resident being roped and dragged on his bicycle through town. My 8th grade buddy, Colin, lasted only a year here in 1983 before his family decided it was too isolating. (I don't know the specifics about racism they faced, but I imagine it was significant.)

So we've come a long way, and I'm proud of Jackson for that. Still, in such a macho town, I have wondered if some people are dismissive of Hillary because she's female. Or perhaps the overriding issue is that her being an east coast, Washington insider doesn't play well in the libertarian-leaning West. Obama has certainly built bridges and found ways of reaching westerners along with people all over the country.

Your thoughts?

#

Your tampon is a graveyard

So, presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has endorsed a proposal to give fertilized eggs full protection under the law in Colorado. First, let's pause for a moment to marvel at the wingnuttiness that is our neighbor to the South. Ok, done.

Now, let's think for a moment about the ramifications of such a proposal. Fertilized eggs would be considered human beings. So, what do we do about the millions of fertilized eggs that never implant in the uterine lining and never proceed to the embryonic stage that are flushed out in the course of nature during a women's menstrual cycle without even her knowledge? Is the coroner going to go around collecting used tampons to search for "dead bodies" and determine the cause of death? Issue a death certificate? Call in the police to determine whether or not the women committed negligent homicide?

And Pam, of Pandagon, asks: "will a post-coitus woman be able to drive in a HOV lane because she may be carrying a fertilized egg?
* Will the highway patrol need to carry pregnancy testing kits to confirm the ability for them to use HOV lanes on the spot?"

How about we give equal rights to women before extending them to "the unborn"?