…and this is a 
Palinology
Category: Creationism • Politics
Posted on: September 15, 2008 7:07 PM, by PZ Myers
Get ready for more fallout over Sarah Palin, who seems to be even crazier than I thought. There was an attempt to rehabilitate her from the accusations of pushing creationism recently, but the counterclaims got the facts all wrong. They claim that she only said that schools ought to "debate both sides," but that's the creationist position — pointing out that she was reciting creationist slogans does not somehow get her off the hook. And then there's this litany of eyewitness stories from residents of her home town, who seem to be cheerfully trotting out to stick a knife in her campaign.
At one point during the hospital battle, passions ran so hot that local antiabortion activists organized a boisterous picket line outside Dr. Lemagie's office, in an unassuming professional building across from Palmer's Little League field. According to Bess and another community activist, among the protesters trying to disrupt the physician's practice that day was Sarah Palin.
Another valley activist, Philip Munger, says that Palin also helped push the evangelical drive to take over the Mat-Su Borough school board. "She wanted to get people who believed in creationism on the board," said Munger, a music composer and teacher. "I bumped into her once after my band played at a graduation ceremony at the Assembly of God. I said, 'Sarah, how can you believe in creationism -- your father's a science teacher.' And she said, 'We don't have to agree on everything.'
"I pushed her on the earth's creation, whether it was really less than 7,000 years old and whether dinosaurs and humans walked the earth at the same time. And she said yes, she'd seen images somewhere of dinosaur fossils with human footprints in them."
Munger also asked Palin if she truly believed in the End of Days, the doomsday scenario when the Messiah will return. "She looked in my eyes and said, 'Yes, I think I will see Jesus come back to earth in my lifetime.'"
Spare us. That's crazy talk.
Another revelation: remember all the Republican buzz about "small town values", and how Palin invoked them in her speech? The source for her quote has been tracked down, and it isn't pretty, but it is fitting for a Republican thug.
"We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty and sincerity and dignity," the vice-presidential candidate said, quoting an anonymous "writer," which is to say, Pegler, who must have penned that mellifluous line when not writing his more controversial stuff. As the New York Times pointed out in its obituary of him in 1969, Pegler once lamented that a would-be assassin "hit the wrong man" when gunning for Franklin Roosevelt.
This Pegler fellow has quite a reputation for fascist rhetoric:
He was also known for what Philip Roth described as his "casual distaste for Jews," which had become so evident by the end that he was bounced from the journal of the John Birch Society in 1964 for alleged anti-semitism. According to his obituary, he'd advanced the theory that American Jews of Eastern European descent were "instinctively sympathetic to Communism, however outwardly respectable they appeared."
And Robert Kennedy Jr has grounds for finding Palin's choice of sources distasteful.
Fascist writer Westbrook Pegler, an avowed racist who Sarah Palin approvingly quoted in her acceptance speech for the moral superiority of small town values, expressed his fervent hope about my father, Robert F. Kennedy, as he contemplated his own run for the presidency in 1965, that "some white patriot of the Southern tier will spatter his spoonful of brains in pubic premises before the snow flies."
Jebus. What has Sarah Palin been reading in order to get her political education?
The only good news I've seen so far: The biggest political rally in Alaskan history was an anti-Palin demonstration. Not that the news media will cover it.
Politics
Comments
Posted by: Jake Blues | September 15, 2008 7:12 PM
This election rests in the hands of a demographic that has repeatedly decided they had better things to do on election day. If the under 30 crowd fails again, this nut is going to be VP.
Posted by: Patricia | September 15, 2008 7:16 PM
It's surprising me that more hasn't been made of McCains refusal to answer Whoopi Goldberg's slavery question on the View. Given the chance I'd push Palin with it too.
Posted by: charfles | September 15, 2008 7:19 PM
Holy shit. She actually used the footprints argument.
Posted by: Pale | September 15, 2008 7:21 PM
It seems that the evangelicals have finally been caught in action:
http://abduzeedo.com/inspiration-the-art-alex-sandwell-kliszynski
Posted by: El Herring | September 15, 2008 7:21 PM
Maybe Obama should have picked Whoopi as running mate. She'd make a great VP.
(Just don't mention the Borg!)
Posted by: Alan Chapman | September 15, 2008 7:22 PM
'Yes, I think I will see Jesus come back to earth in my lifetime.'
So, Jesus is going to descend out of the clouds like a comic book superhero and orchestrate the end of the world with his magic powers.
Sam Harris rightly pointed out that this lunacy is maladaptive to planning for a prosperous and sustainable future. Why plan for the future if the world is going to end tomorrow? And while we're at it, let's start as many wars as possible to expedite the end so we can be with Jesus quicker.
Posted by: SC | September 15, 2008 7:23 PM
He made the John Birch Society look reasonable by comparison. That's a scary individual.
Posted by: Pygmy Loris | September 15, 2008 7:31 PM
This YEC crap is so ridiculous that people should feel shame for even thinking it. What really gets me is when otherwise intelligent people act like thinking Jesus will be back soon is just a personal quirk. All I can do is keep repeating "If you think Jesus is returning soon, then you have no reason to work on long-term plans to fix or alleviate the problems humans have caused for the earth."
I've had some luck pointing this out to a few people, but I keep getting blank stares.
Anyone know how to immigrate to New Zealand? Do they need anthropology PhDs?
Posted by: SC | September 15, 2008 7:31 PM
1400 people is the biggest political rally in the history of the state? WOW.
Posted by: Dante | September 15, 2008 7:32 PM
Actually CNN did mention something about the anti-Palin rally this afternoon... I don't have any links for you though. I'll try to find something.
Posted by: Pygmy Loris | September 15, 2008 7:34 PM
And while we're at it, let's start as many wars as possible to expedite the end so we can be with Jesus quicker.
Alan, have you been hanging out with my relatives? They say stuff like this all the time!
Posted by: patrickhenry | September 15, 2008 7:35 PM
I've been blogging this Palin-creationism thing since it first surfaced, and although I've got lots of serious questions, I don't have any specific answers. That Salon piece, for example, is all based on anecdotal accounts. True, perhaps, but not necessarily.
That's why I finally posted my Open Letter to Sarah Palin. I don't really care what she privately thinks about Noah's Ark and all the rest, but I'd like to be assured that when it comes to real world situations, she's capable of rational thought. At some stage in this campaign, I hope she's confronted with direct questions on this, because it's a bit more important than moose-hunting.
Posted by: Dante | September 15, 2008 7:35 PM
That wasn't hard... here you go.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/09/15/yellin.palin.women.cnn?iref=videosearch
I was surprised too.
Posted by: Tanya | September 15, 2008 7:37 PM
Anyone else notice "pubic premises"??
Posted by: SEF | September 15, 2008 7:38 PM
Another negative endorsement of Sarah Palin.
Posted by: Zarquon | September 15, 2008 7:39 PM
And while we're at it, let's start as many wars as possible to expedite the end so we can be with Jesus quicker.
Yay! Immanentize the Eschaton!
Posted by: Michael X | September 15, 2008 7:42 PM
This level of nuttiness will of course only endear her more to the organized minority of nutcases who are sad to see the country swing away from their pet political issues. Now they once again have a wackaloon who's just like them running for office.
Posted by: Kaddath | September 15, 2008 7:43 PM
For the sake of this planet, I really hope you USAians kick those Rethuligans out of office.
Posted by: Joel | September 15, 2008 7:44 PM
WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/09152008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/obama_tried_to_stall_gis_iraq_withdrawal_129150.htm?page=0
Posted by: SEF | September 15, 2008 7:44 PM
PS There's (now) a later retraction on the budget analysis but there are also other negative items posted since.
Posted by: clinteas | September 15, 2008 7:46 PM
PZ wrote :
//Not that the news media will cover it.//
Thats exactly the problem,how are the average americans meant to form an informed opinion about the candidates,if stuff like this is only reported in obscure(no offense lol) internet blogs,never in the mainstream media.
Great piece about Palin here(repost from another thread,it fits better here tho):
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/09/10/palin_feminism/index.html
Posted by: Faith Minus | September 15, 2008 7:46 PM
I just hope there are enough rational human beings left in the good ol' USA to keep this wacka-loon out of office.
Posted by: Patricia | September 15, 2008 7:48 PM
OT - Does anyone know if Scooter and family are OK?
Posted by: Dante | September 15, 2008 7:51 PM
@ #21, clinteas:
See my previous posts. CNN did do a story on it.
Posted by: frog | September 15, 2008 7:51 PM
Pegler - that ain't surprising. What do people think the Alaska Indepence Party is?
Palin is way scarier than Bush ever was. Not a corporatist using fascist sentiments, but an actual, real-life 1923 style fascist (with lipstick, of course).
Posted by: Joel | September 15, 2008 7:51 PM
Great piece about Palin here(repost from another thread,it fits better here tho):
It lost me at "fuckable."
Posted by: Becca | September 15, 2008 7:55 PM
@Jake Blues- to be perfectly honest, a lot in the under-30 crowd are utterly convinced it's all farce. If the previous generations hadn't screwed up so bad I might actually blame them for the cynicism.
Posted by: Michael X | September 15, 2008 7:56 PM
I agree Joel@26. Salon is really only still functioning because of Glenn Greenwald. All the other writers tend to be hacks of this variety.
Posted by: Kel | September 15, 2008 7:57 PM
Very scary stuff. Wasn't it Douglas Adams who wrote along the lines of "Any man capable of being elected president should on no count be allowed to do the job"? It seems fitting in this case.
Posted by: RamblinDude | September 15, 2008 7:58 PM
Another interesting thing about fundamentalists is that the more dynamic, compelling and successful a candidate is, the more suspect he is of being the ANTICHRIST!!!
Obama is intellectual, eloquent, dynamic and compelling. In the evangelical world it's a strike against him. I wish I was kidding.
Posted by: Holbach | September 15, 2008 7:59 PM
I hope Tina Fey is keeping up to date with all this latest stuff on Palin. She has much material to hone her act!
Posted by: herr doktor bimler | September 15, 2008 8:00 PM
The MSM touched lightly on the lies of Sarah Palin
In her white ex-urban bedroom, in a white ex-urban town
As she lay there 'neath the covers, dreaming of a thousand lovers
'Til the world turned to orange and the room went spinning round
Posted by: The Chimp's Raging Id | September 15, 2008 8:02 PM
My only hope is that Palin is so crazy that she scares voters away from her and McSame and towards Obama.
But maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part...
Posted by: Newfie | September 15, 2008 8:05 PM
The Religious Right seems to have co-opted the founding fathers of your country for their own purposes, and/or by total ignorance. When asked about "under God" in The Pledge of Allegiance, Palin said, "if it was good enough for the founding fathers, then it's good enough for me". Correct me if I'm wrong (dumb Canuck), but weren't the founding fathers of the United States mostly secularists and atheists? Didn't they want religion removed from government? This is a conversation that needs to be brought to the forefront, and the reasoning for it explained in easy terms that your average fundie can understand. Theocracy breeds favouritism, and leads to dissent and sectarian violence, one only needs to look to Eye-Rack. Jaysus, she says, "Eye-Rack and Nuke-U-Ler" .. they had to write "New-Clear" on the woman's RNC speech for crying out loud.
Posted by: jimvj | September 15, 2008 8:05 PM
"With a disdain for science that alarms wildlife experts, Sarah Palin continues to promote Alaska's policy to gun down wolves from planes."
http://www.salon.com/env/feature/2008/09/08/sarah_palin_wolves/?source=newsletter
Apparently her intelligent designer didn't get the predator-prey balance quite correct.
Posted by: jose | September 15, 2008 8:13 PM
and she wants war against russia.
Posted by: skyotter | September 15, 2008 8:13 PM
for what it's worth, the anti-Palin rally has been all over the news here in Alaska
Posted by: Doug | September 15, 2008 8:16 PM
Yeah, that "jeebus in my lifetime" is particularly sick. Even the christians that aren't actively working to make the destruction of the "end times" happen, are at least more then happy to sit by and watch the destruct occur. Is it possible to be more selfish than a christian?
Posted by: Michael X | September 15, 2008 8:19 PM
Newfie,
It is true that the founders wanted a separation of church and state, though it would be harder to prove that they were mainly Atheists and Secularists. More like Deists, Theists, and Secularists.
Though in the nuts and bolts of the matter, the difference is irrelevant. There was never supposed to be a religious test for office, or a State Church. That clause has been read by the great majority of Supreme Court Justices as leaving no room for even the favoring of one church or religious view over another.
There is also a video of Obama on YouTube talking about the need for all reasoning in government to be founded upon that which everyone, no matter their religion, can understand. This is a statement perfectly in line with what the founders wrote.
Posted by: Nurse Ingrid | September 15, 2008 8:22 PM
"When asked about "under God" in The Pledge of Allegiance, Palin said, "if it was good enough for the founding fathers, then it's good enough for me". "
Palin's ignorance is worse than you think. The original version of the Pledge was written in 1892, and the "under God" phrase wasn't added until 1954. The founding fathers, religious or not, had nothing to do with it.
Reminds me of the quote, attributed to various religious fanatics, which may be an urban legend but is still funny:
"If English was good enough for Our Lord Jesus Christ, it's good enough for me!"
Posted by: CarlM | September 15, 2008 8:22 PM
What kind of reductio ad fascium crap is this? Has Godwin's Law been overturned? You really think we're going to beat McCain/Palin in November with this amateur propaganda bullshit? You really think you are going to paint Palin as some sort of Jew hating pseudo-Nazi or neo-fascist because she quoted some guy about small towns? Are you out of your mind? How many times do these over the top accusations have to blow up in your faces before you LEARN?!
What's next? Photoshopping her face into an old Hitler picture? Jebus buttfucking Cripes you people are going to absolutely BLOW IT!
Posted by: Kel | September 15, 2008 8:25 PM
That element of the fundamentalist movement scares me. It's teaching people not to respect the world now, don't worry about the future, put the fate of the world in God's hands, and wait for the eternal torment of those who laughed in your face when you said that dinosaurs walked alongside man.Posted by: SC | September 15, 2008 8:26 PM
Well, how could they ignore 1400 people?
Sorry. I'll stop. Given the pitiful protest history there, this one seems all the more impressive, in fact.
Posted by: Dante | September 15, 2008 8:27 PM
@41, CarlM:
The Republican campaigns of 2000 and 2004, which largely depended on such "over the top accusations", completely blew the elections for them, didn't it!
Damn, I'm awful anxious to see just how hard this is actually going to blow up in our faces.
Posted by: BK | September 15, 2008 8:27 PM
Another Palin bashing thread? I am NOT a supporter of McCain or Palin. But it seems like the "she's a she-beast" stuff is way over the top around here.
It makes the blog look just as mean spirited and shallow as those you are beating up on.
Posted by: bad Jim | September 15, 2008 8:29 PM
Newfie, some of the founders were unitarian. Franklin, Adams and Jefferson believed in god but doubted the divinity of Jesus, and Washington and Madison may have done so as well. The Constitutional Convention was militantly secular as is the Consitution itself.
Posted by: Qwerty | September 15, 2008 8:31 PM
More Palin coverage from the NY Times. If you read it, she seems in the Bush mold of giving jobs to unqualified friends and/or family. Scary.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/us/politics/14palin.html?em
Posted by: Amos | September 15, 2008 8:34 PM
"[...] weren't the founding fathers of the United States mostly secularists and atheists?""
I think it looks a like that now, but only because their beliefs don't fit modern expectations of the religious. Their criticism of institutional religion and skepticism of dogma and miracles makes them an odd fit in current pigeonholes. But from what I can tell, the founders were mostly Christian rationalists, Deists, and Unitarians.
"Didn't they want religion removed from government?"
Yes, but I don't think we can assume they were in complete agreement on what that meant. (Or even assume that one individual thought it meant the same thing over his lifetime.) If I remember correctly, Madison's opposition to legislative chaplains put him at odds with other founders.
That said, I think they would on the whole oppose what Republicans are doing and trying to do. It's certainly clear that the 1st amendment's primary author, Madison, would.
Posted by: Coragyps | September 15, 2008 8:35 PM
Nurse Ingrid @#40 - Essentially that phrase was used on my Presbyterian preacher daddy once when he tried to read the RSV bible instead of the King James to a guy in the hospital. My dad damn near dug out his Greek New Testament and brused up on his Aramaic and went back to see the silly bastard again.
Posted by: kcrady | September 15, 2008 8:38 PM
Would you like to know what the corporate aristocrats will do with the tax breaks they get from a McCain/Palin Administration? Here it is, the true face of the Republican agenda. Notice the smugly-asserted Social Darwinism. This is something every American needs to see before the election, keeping in mind that Halliburton moved to Dubai.
Posted by: Tony Sidaway | September 15, 2008 8:40 PM
I have to admit I don't understand why Palin is popular, after everything that has come out to her. It seems to me that things I would regard as absolutely disqualifying any candidate (extreme right wing political views, scientific illiteracy, dogmatic opposition to abortion, and so on) are ignored because she gave a good speech.
Does anybody have any idea what is going on in the minds of the voters?
Posted by: Erica | September 15, 2008 8:41 PM
The blogger said that the rally had about 1400 against Palin and 90 Palin supporters and that it was bigger than Palin's own rally. The Seattle times covered it and the numbers are different. I'm hopping that the blogger was more accurate, but I wonder.
Posted by: Ballard J blevins | September 15, 2008 8:42 PM
If McCain and Palin are elected, I wonder if she will do a holy roll and speak in toungs at their inauguration.
bj
Posted by: Joe | September 15, 2008 8:44 PM
Fact: A large minority (approx. 40%) of eligible voters in this country do not vote, ever. Not even in a Presidential election.
Fact: A majority of voters in this country that DO vote do not read a newspaper or surf the web for news on a regular basis.
Fact: The majority of voters in this country that DO vote and DO NOT read the newspapers on a regular basis do not know or care about the fine points of Sarah Palin's political qualifications.
Fact: This is the target group of the GOP and they use any means (T.V commercials, FOX news, etc.) to influence them. In a close election such as this, these are the kingmakers.
Fact: None of these folks will ever read this. BUT many of them watch T.V. religiously.
Fact: These may be the folks that determine the future of this country. Same as in 2000.
Posted by: Michael X | September 15, 2008 8:46 PM
Well, Tony@51, as I was reminded when I was stating the same facts: "The people who like Sarah Palin don't think like you"
I of course responded with "No shit? I'm totally shocked over that revelation." But the point still stands as much as it irritates me. For many people "Democrat" has come to have certain negative connotations totally outside what any of the party planks are. People are in essence voting on the image they like best, not whether the policies would benefit them.
(I suppose in this case Sam Harris would have us ditch the word Democrat for another, right?)
Posted by: El Herring | September 15, 2008 8:50 PM
If McCain and Palin are elected I want to move to another planet. That new one that's just been discovered should be far enough away.
On a different topic, it looks as though the millionth comment will be in a few hours' time which will be in the middle of the night for me, so good luck to the rest of you, I'm out of the running!
Posted by: BrianR | September 15, 2008 8:51 PM
Have you all seen the story over at Talk To Action about Palin's former church and relationships with the craziest of the crazies ... the Third Wave (or New Apostolic Reformation).
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/9/13/1538/09770
These folks want the end times, think all other religions (including other Christian sects that don't fall in line) are controlled by demons ... you know, nice warm and fuzzy feelings.
The Talk To Action folks hit the nail on the head w/ this statement:
"Sarah Palin has every right to hold whatever religious views she chooses but, by the same token, the American people have every right to know what Palin's religious beliefs are - especially to the extent that they may include the view that all other religious and philosophical views but her own are under the influence of demonic powers and that believing Christians must conquer the Earth and cleanse it of evil in this final generation."
That's exactly right ... I don't care if people are deluded and crazy, but I certainly don't want them in any position of power.
I apologize if this is old news to everyone here ... you all are way more on top of this stuff than me.
Posted by: richbank | September 15, 2008 8:51 PM
All of you adults are lucky, at least you have marketable skills and degrees that might get you a visa to get out of this country if the republicans win. Us minors/students have a while before someone else would be willing to take us :\.
Posted by: frog | September 15, 2008 8:51 PM
CarlM What kind of reductio ad fascium crap is this? Has Godwin's Law been overturned? You really think we're going to beat McCain/Palin in November with this amateur propaganda bullshit? You really think you are going to paint Palin as some sort of Jew hating pseudo-Nazi or neo-fascist because she quoted some guy about small towns? Are you out of your mind? How many times do these over the top accusations have to blow up in your faces before you LEARN?!
Yeah, I guess it's just stupid to point out that her husband belonged to an organization with fascist ties (the founder was blown up in an explosives deal gone bad, they're buddies with groups like the Southern League), that she has close personal ties to that organization, that her politics are clearly of the authoritarian/populist mode, that her chosen quotations are of an outright fascist and anti-semite, that her church is associated with dominionism, that she herself has declared the War in Iraq as being a mission from the Lord... What do you expect, a swaztika on her forehead?
It's just so silly to point those things out! Because, oh-poor-me, we might step on the Iron Law Of Godwin, or someone might come out using pseudo-Latin phrases like reductio ad fascium (reduction to bundles??).
No, let's pretend these things just don't exist! My, my, I'm not sure they even existed in the thirties - it was just amateur propaganda bullshit all along. Those silly Jews and their over the top accusations!
Yup, it would just be silly to point out all these things. Just crazy. It's just a random coincidence, these thing-ma-jiggies of choosing who we quote in our acceptance speeches - that's done by sound alone. No one hears the whistles.
In short -- Godwin's Law was a JOKE! Just a fucking JOKE! It was supposed to be literally haha-funny, because so often unsubstantiated claims were made. It isn't some kind of logical fallacy --- just a JOKE taken much too seriously by folks with a clearly very limited intellectual capacity and yet a vastly self-aggrandizing world view.
Let's add to Godwin's Law frog's codicile - the first one to call Godwin's Law is next eliminated from the discussion after the violator of Godwin's Law. You can only invoke Godwin's Law as a sort of queen's sacrifice play.
Posted by: SC | September 15, 2008 8:51 PM
Thanks for the link, kcrady. Mike Davis has writen about Dubai:
http://www.newleftreview.org/?view=2635
Posted by: JStein | September 15, 2008 8:57 PM
Wow, she's quoting fascists already. And I though she was just as stupid as Dan Quayle. It turns out she's also as evil as Dick Cheney.
Posted by: Rahne | September 15, 2008 9:00 PM
Yes but she didn't press it. She let it drop after the election. That's what Fact Check found out.
It makes her no less of an ignorant dumbass though.
Posted by: IBY | September 15, 2008 9:11 PM
Well, then we know for who to vote. Anyways, Palin... I thought that choice was so random, and I thought it was obvious that she was a political tool to draw Hillary's audience.
Posted by: Canuck | September 15, 2008 9:15 PM
You like to think that after 8 years of the Bush Junta that things can't get any worse. And it truly is hard to imagine that Americans would voluntarily put themselves in a worse place. But when you look at what this certifiable nutcase Palin believes, it makes that lying, obfuscating, prevaricating, shoe-shopping bitch Rice seem kind of moderate in comparison. And that is truly scary.
If you folks - not you on this blog, but the US citizens - vote the McCain/Palin ticket into office, then the US and the rest of us are headed down the toilet. I'm going to get a nice surfboard so I can circle the hole in style as the vortex increases its pull. What a fucking nutbar population.
Hey, your country's leaders are okay if you kill religious whackjobs in other countries. You know, like the Taliban. Can you do it at home? They are the same kind of animal, after all. And y'all are packin' heat down there, no?
Posted by: SC | September 15, 2008 9:24 PM
Why the comparison to "that...bitch" Rice?
You're frightening.
Posted by: Cynthia of Syracuse | September 15, 2008 9:35 PM
Ummmm..."pubic premises"?
Posted by: frog | September 15, 2008 9:40 PM
Rahne: Yes but she didn't press it. She let it drop after the election. That's what Fact Check found out.
FactCheck found out that it wasn't a good issue to push right away while she was governor? So you're saying she's politically savvy? Wow, deep findings by FactCheck!
It would be a big mistake to think she's an "ignorant dumbass". She's got an agenda - she knows what the timing is, what's relevant to her advancement, and the advancement of her allies. She gives a shit about scientific truth; it's irrelevant to her.
FactCheck is weak. They think that facts are true or false in a non-analytic way. They are the wikipedia of journalism - a good place to start, but you look foolish if you rely on their findings as being authoritative in any sense.
Posted by: Naked Bunny with a Whip | September 15, 2008 9:41 PM
It makes the blog look just as mean spirited and shallow as those you are beating up on.
You obviously never actually read those blogs if you think that.
Posted by: Skwee | September 15, 2008 9:48 PM
What was that old quote about fascism & a flag & a cross?
Posted by: Newfie | September 15, 2008 9:50 PM
Joe @ 54 says pretty much what I, as an outsider sees.
It's impolite to talk about politics and religion in certain places in society.. or so I was taught as a child. That's what's broke in Western society, IMO. It's one thing to talk on message boards, or with people who share your opinion, but I think we who are curious, and want the facts, need to share that with people who aren't so curious. 'Cause sure as shit in a cat, the fundamental church leaders tell, or at least hint, at who their parishioners should vote for. I've seen it first hand. My Grandmother was a fundie, and when somebody in her church passed her something to sign and send to her Member of Parliament, she would not hesitate. The church could do no wrong in her eyes. Even my best logic and careful explanation of the issue had no sway compared to the church. Talk to a Republican, mention the lies to them. Especially the Palin fans. Ask what they think of her lies, that they are likely unaware of. Back them up with facts. Make them question you. Point them in the right direction to actually get the facts. Gutenberg invented a great machine, and enlightened people who could then actually "read" the Bible, and not just hear it spewed to them in Latin, and listen to interpretations from the clergy. Knowledge is power, but so many still lack knowledge. Something as simple as picking up a newspaper in a supermarket, laughing out loud, and pointing out the lie to a stranger, could make a difference.
/ still has hope for humanity.
Posted by: Dust | September 15, 2008 10:00 PM
I saw some photos of the protest in Anchorage. One of the signs was the best:
McCain/Palin
Unstable/Unable
Posted by: raven | September 15, 2008 10:02 PM
We don't have to. She has admitted to be a christofascist Domionist many, many times. AofGod, her church is a bunch of kooks as is the Third Wave/Latter Rain/Joels Army cultists.
Don't forget, Hitler was elected to power. And enjoyed immense popularity until things started to unravel.
Nothing special about the Germans, Afghanis, or Soviet Russians. Seems like at some point, societies just decide it is time to turn into lemmings and run off a cliff. That McCain and crazy Palin are polling over 35% indicates that something is drastically wrong with the USA. Interesting factoid, all civilizations end and most die of internal problems.
Posted by: Feynmaniac | September 15, 2008 10:14 PM
Wow....about 500 comments left until the one million mark. PZ get a post about cracker descration going and we will get there before midnight.
Posted by: Pierce R. Butler | September 15, 2008 10:20 PM
Wasilla-style "small town values" don't leave much room for other viewpoints. According to the "litany of eyewitness stories" article linked to above by Prof Myers, when a local pastor wrote a book about why christians should accept gays,
Will someone please ask McCain &/or Palin whether she will being the small town value of being unable to keep secrets to Washington?
Posted by: LisaJ | September 15, 2008 10:21 PM
You know, every time I read one of these posts describing more disturbing facts about Palin I'm sure I must be dreaming. Here's hoping I wake up soon, and stop nodding off so frequently.
Posted by: Pierce R. Butler | September 15, 2008 10:23 PM
Yarrgles! last sentence of # 74:
beingbring...Posted by: genesgalore | September 15, 2008 10:30 PM
pigpalin is a mess. "she's the family values candidate but pay no attention to her family values."
Posted by: Pierce R. Butler | September 15, 2008 10:32 PM
Let's not get too agitated about Palin's use of a Westbrook Pegler quote in her convention speech.
It's been widely reported that the speech was written well in advance of her selection, and tweaked a bit to customize it for her to deliver that fateful September night.
In other words, the Pegler fan may not be Palin herself, but just some speechwriter favored by the man reportedly favored by the majority of US voters to become the next Decider.
Now, that's something to get agitated about.
Posted by: Pimientita | September 15, 2008 10:34 PM
OT, but I liked this quote from Biden in his speech today:
Speaking of the similarities between McCain's 2008 rhetoric and Bush's 2000 rhetoric he says, "We've seen this movie before, folks. But as everyone knows, the sequel is always worse than the original."
Much, much worse in this case.
Posted by: Ames | September 15, 2008 10:38 PM
It's shocking to me, but there are a sizable contingent of moderates that consider that, since Palin never acted on her creationist beliefs, she's somehow "okay." Obviously that's wrong (and, PZ, "palintology" > "palinology") :).
Posted by: Bruce | September 15, 2008 10:42 PM
I question the credibility of the Munger quote. Sounds too convenient by half. Unlikely topic, unlikely timing, unlikely personal knowledge by this person. Read it three times and ask yourself: myth or fair dinkum?
Posted by: Paul Burnett | September 15, 2008 10:43 PM
"What was that old quote about fascism & a flag & a cross?" - Skwee, #69
"When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." - Sinclair Lewis (who died in 1951)
Posted by: Grumpy | September 15, 2008 10:47 PM
"...she said yes, she'd seen images somewhere of dinosaur fossils with human footprints in them."
Fun fact about Alaska: the keynote speaker at the 2006 Governor's Prayer Breakfast was... Carl Baugh. Palin's predecessor had the good sense to be leave early before Baugh started speaking. (He had to be at a special premiere for the movie "Ice Age: The Meltdown." I kid you not.) I don't recall if Palin was present at the breakfast; given her frosty relations with the previous administration, I doubt it.
Rahne #62 is right, though. Palin has not openly pushed the creationism angle. The only reason we know about it is because it was a question during a campaign debate, which came out of nowhere.
Posted by: H.H. | September 15, 2008 10:48 PM
patrickhenry @ #12 said:
Um, well, you probably should. Those two things are most definitely related. As in, if she privately thinks a historical Noah really did save all the planet's animals on an ark, then then there is no reason to assume she is capable of rational thought in any situation. It's not like irrational, fact-hating ideologues only save the crazy for when they're out of the office. It suffuses everything they do. Ignore the blaring warning signs at your peril.Posted by: Julian | September 15, 2008 10:51 PM
I'd read this over the weekend, but the point it makes should be clear to everyone: get out there and vote on election day! Until then, do whatever you can to help the Dem's win this one. Phone banks don't work themselves, people.
Posted by: wrpd | September 15, 2008 10:53 PM
Hitler was never elected. He was appointed chancellor by President von Hindenberg. In the last Reichstag election before he was made chancellor the Nazi Party only got 37% of the vote. Soon after coming to power Hitler removed all of the representatives of the opposition parties from the Reichstag. It was this Nazi-control Reichstag that passed the Enabling Act which "legalized" Hitler's complete power grab.
As chancellor Hitler was responsible to the President who was very old and senile. When he died Hitler simply combined the positions of chancellor and president. 90% of the German people voted in favo