Without malice, without partisanship

I don't understand (4.00 / 1)

getting on a plane while in labor for such a long flight. It is unsafe--altitude, radiation, just to name two off the top of my head.

Also, Down Syndrome babies are often born with heart defects and need major medical attention after birth.

Something in that story doesn't sit right, and this isn't a value judgment. It doesn't make sense.

Mitt and the dog and Cindy and the kid--well, they can do and have anything they want. I thought we all knew that. Besides, the money in McCain's family is Cindy's not John's. And according to an NPR report, she stands to gain tens of millions more when the Imbev(?) deal to buy Anheuser Busch goes down.

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by: jbd @ Fri Sep 05, 2008 at 19:04:48 PM CDT

ALL of them can do (0.00 / 0)

anything they want, within the law.

When they ask for our votes those choices go into our IN boxes for evaluation.

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by: elwood @ Fri Sep 05, 2008 at 22:30:39 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Is that thing with the dog within the law? (0.00 / 0)

Surely that's animal cruelty.

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Fri Sep 05, 2008 at 23:52:57 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

There are child welfare laws. However, they're mainly (0.00 / 0)

concerned with physical abuse or neglect; not psychological abuse.

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by: hannah @ Sat Sep 06, 2008 at 04:27:29 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Her water broke a month early. (4.00 / 1)

And instead of going to the hospital to prevent infection, she gave a speech, got on a plane, bypassed the best hospital with expertise in special needs children and preemies and drove further to one without that.

Hey, it's a free country. Her decisions are her own.

But in what universe was she not recklessly endangering herself, her unborn child, and the plane passengers (in the event of an emergency landing due to delivery)?

I'm sorry - it's a legitimate issue, because it goes to a person's judgment.  Especially since the Palin family decided to use that child for political gain during the convention.

Every mother that hears the story in full will be appalled.

Wonder if Sununu's fired now.

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by: Dean Barker @ Fri Sep 05, 2008 at 19:27:00 PM CDT

Missing (0.00 / 0)

Elwood, you left an adjective out in front of the word "weird".  

My favorite newspaper, the New York Daily News, reported today that Sarah Palin went to six colleges in six years, transferring from one school in Hawaii to another school in Hawaii because the first one was too rainy.  As someone who did not graduate from the first college I attended, I can respect transferring - but six colleges in six years?  That's weird.  You have to try really, really hard to attend six colleges in six years.  

Energy and persistence conquer all things.

Benjamin Franklin

I'm a strategist for the NH Coordinated Campaign

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by: Kathy Sullivan @ Fri Sep 05, 2008 at 20:50:18 PM CDT

Not to mention Todd Palin (0.00 / 0)

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by: cmnh @ Fri Sep 05, 2008 at 21:03:06 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Great piece elwood (4.00 / 1)

why so shy with the FP?

Hope > Fear

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by: Mike Hoefer @ Fri Sep 05, 2008 at 21:25:37 PM CDT

It's not an NH piece (0.00 / 0)

and (psst - don't tell anybody) I can be a hothead.

But 'kay.

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by: elwood @ Fri Sep 05, 2008 at 21:52:57 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Don't forget the fact that the Palin kids weren't told what was happening until they got to Dayton. (4.00 / 1)

The story until then was they were going to celebrate their parents' anniversary.

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Fri Sep 05, 2008 at 21:40:15 PM CDT

Yes. (4.00 / 1)

That's a BIG part of why I posted this.

The Palins did that to their daughter, and now they want my permission to mind my nation.

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by: elwood @ Fri Sep 05, 2008 at 22:01:09 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Bane of hypocrisy (4.00 / 2)

The whole argument about Sarah Palin's "pregnancy" renders itself to skepticism and apparently anyone who questions it is personally attacking her because we hate Jesus or some crap like that.  For as much as I consider myself to be a realist, I still don't buy this whole "pregnancy" thing.  Having known of an incident in my family's distant past where a relative was told that after his sister's death that indeed she was his mother, I can see how such a conservative group of people would want to save face with such an antiquated value that renders itself to barbarism.

Frankly, I don't really care whether she had the baby or not, it just seems that the extreme hypocrisy of the Right in this case who have told working women to stay home with the kids for past fifty years are now embracing the idea of having a mother of 5 with a 5 month y/o special needs child become the next VP.  Simply mindboggling.  But Republicans can turn any perdicament or crappy idea into pure gold during their campaigns by hiding behind the facade of patriotism and religion.  Just chant "USA, USA, USA!!!" a little louder and you'll drown out the dissent.  Just invoke Christianity for your own political prowess and think that everyone will just be in awe with your devotion.  And most of all just keep the fear racket going.  Yeah, bring Rudy 9iu11iani out to just bellow about "September 11th!, September 11th!, September 11th!, terrorism!, terrorism!, terrorism!.... huh huh, community organizer?"

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by: Northwoods @ Sat Sep 06, 2008 at 02:51:01 AM CDT

Irresponsible and negligent parents are everywhere. (0.00 / 0)

The extent of the problem is not reported because child-welfare matters are "protected" by confidentiality provisions and the larger community is even excluded from court where alternative arrangements are made.  Secrecy reigns in the "juvenile justice system" and, frankly, there's no incentive on anyone's part to open things up.  Only in the most extreme cases, when the children end up dead from physical abuse are the social workers called to account.
Why do we have so many run-away teenagers and teenagers on drugs?  Because nobody cares for them.

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by: hannah @ Sat Sep 06, 2008 at 04:23:49 AM CDT

Without Malice, Without partisanship, who are you kidding? (0.00 / 0)

Why can we not stick to the issues? I thought this was the campaighn of change! This is just plain smear politics! The Governor should be judged on her policies and  political positions not on what people think of her family decisions. This article and comments remind me of every thing I and many Democrats have fought against for years against the right wing politics of the Republican Party. This is shameful and insulting and will not help our party win in November!

S.Devorin-Post

Stanley Devorin-Post

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by: Stanley Devorin-Post @ Mon Sep 08, 2008 at 20:51:39 PM CDT

Where is the smear? (4.00 / 1)

This was in fact written without malice or partisanship. I'm capable of both, this didn't come from there.

All three episodes - the dog, the adoption, the eighth-month flight - are facts. All three of them creep me out. They would creep me out if the people involved were Democrats or not running for national office - but then it wouldn't be any of my business.

I repeat: these people are just plain weird. I don't trust their judgment because I cannot even guess what makes them tick.

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by: elwood @ Mon Sep 08, 2008 at 21:04:10 PM CDT

[ Parent ]