Compare and Contrast...

Check out these two Sarah Palin photos from the McCain's daughter's blog...







VP candidate with diapers and baby wipes. Gotta love this country.

Identity Politics and Diversity

What I know...

Group 1:
Senator since 2005, Law Professor, State legislator, non-profit board member, Columbia and Harvard Law. Spouse is a Princeton educated corporate executive. Two kids in school. Unclear legislative record but has some sleazy Chicago friends and an America-hating pastor.
Senator since 1972, Career politician, Lawyer, (Syracuse Law), spouse is PhD educator, one son is state Attorney General, another is a lobbyist. Sponsored the law that took away bankruptcy write off of credit card debt.

Group 2:
Senator, in congress since 1982, retired Naval officer, A-4 pilot, Squadron CO, combat veteran and ex-POW, Naval Academy. Divorced once. Current spouse is a former drug addict who owns a beer company. At least one son is a commissioned officer on active duty in Iraq. Has an adopted daughter from Bangladesh. Rejects earmarks, but led misguided "election reform."
Governor since 2006, mayor, University of Idaho. NRA member. Spouse is a Native American commercial fisherman, oil field worker, and steelworkers Union member. Five kids. Oldest son ENLISTED on active duty, headed for Iraq. Youngest child has Down syndrome. Took on corrupt state politicians in own party. Turned down Federal pork.

So tell me again, which group do you think can relate to the average American?

Palin is the Pick!

Instapundit reports that McCain has picked Sarah Palin to be his running mate.

I am thrilled. I like what I've heard about her, from her porkbusting, head on challenges to party corruption, to her personal choice about having a baby some people wouldn't have.

She is the only one that could possibly have gotten me to actively support the Republican candidate.

Thrilled.

Dude

This is just wrong. "Ortega makes my taco pop."





Link from Fark

Crazy Like a Fox?

Here's the plan.

Name Biden as VP candidate.

Go to the convention.

Hillary delegates put her name in nomination as VP.

Hillary gets the VP spot, Biden is out.

Democrats are energized.

Sound like a plan?

Precursor to Russian Invasion of Georgia
Russia Shoots Down Georgian Drone (over Georgian Air Space?) 21 April 2008

I don't remember hearing much made of this then, but it should've been a big deal. Sure looks important in retrospect doesn't it? The Russians were preparing for months.



From a Naval Aviation stand point... that's one view of a Mig-29 that you never want to see from the inside of a P-3.
(Yeah, it might be cooler to say "from the inside of a Whale" than from a inside the sky pig, but to tell the truth, I had my last mission in a Whale several months before the Mig-29 IOC.)

Spanish Costa Rican No-Knock Raid

Spanish Costa Rican police are as scary as American cops. Of course, the do have a longer history of fascism than we do.

The thing that gets me is that a resident hears the commotion, comes out and opens the door for them while they're tearing it off the hinges.

She's lucky she wasn't shot.

UPDATE: Spain corrected to Costa Rica. I had my doubts about this being in Spain, but Liveleak had labeled it "Spanish." and I took that at face value. Sigh. I know the difference. Did a search and "Los Guido, Desamparados" is in Costa Rica.

What Ever Happened to Post-Racial?

I went to the Obama site to see if he had made a comment on the Soviet, whoops, Russian invasion of Georgia as he was heading out for vacation. No comment. As well there should not be. He's not President. I did find the concentration camp sign image and some verbage from his arrival in Hawaii

"I try to explain to them something about the aloha spirit. I try to explain to them this basic idea that we all have obligations to each other, that we're not alone, that if we see somebody who's in need we should help,"

Hmm. This is at the core of civil, dare I say it, Christian society. Who exactly needs this "explained" to them? The uncouth pagan masses I guess.

"Obama said "most importantly, that when you come from Hawaii, you start understanding that what's on the surface, what people look like, that doesn't determine who they are.

"And that the power and strength of diversity, the ability of people from everywhere, whether they're black or white, whether they're Japanese-American or Korean-American or Filipino-American or whatever they are, they are just Americans, that all of us can work together and all of us can join together to create a better country.

Now we throw in the "D" word to make the pronouncement holy. The implication I get here is that somehow we are not joined together, but separate groups that still need to learn how to come together. Dude, we're past that.

I like the 'better country' part, but with him I get the feeling that he doesn't mean for us to go from good to better, but to go from bad to good.

Camp Obama Maus?

According to this post over at Classical Values, the Obama campaign has a political education camp.

CampObamaus

(http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/campobamaus)

What were they thinking? Obama is giving us an invitation to camp Maus?

No thanks.

Update: added image

A True "Post Racial" Society

There's been a lot of whining back and forth in the press in the last week about race. This popped up after the McCain camp produced a video comparing candidate Obama to Paris Hilton or Britney Spears - all celebrity, no accomplishments. Obama responded with something about himself "he doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills?" I tend to agree with the critique that Obama is playing race where it's not an issue.

Anyway... tonight we were in downtown Augusta for First Friday. Big turnout. Lots of young people. Mostly locals, but a few from the Army base at Fort Gordon. And I noticed something... several groups of young men that were racially mixed. White, Black, Hispanic (didn't see any Asians), hanging out downtown, having fun. I noticed something else. Almost every one of these "mixed" groups were made up of military guys. My wife and I discussed it. The military meritocracy really is leading society in this area. Doesn't matter who your Dad was, how much money your family has, (to a degree) where you went to school. What matters is performance and character. No whining. That's post-racial.