Picking on Palin, and Time to Go to London

Right, got the new term off to its start. These are the shiny children, the one's raised in clean, well-lighted places. They are studious (mostly), pretty well trained in the mechanics of writing, and shockingly polite. So far, so good. But, next week I leave for the conference in London, then the editing stint to the north, and these kids are 18. We will see how they fare in my absence.

So, London. Anyone want a nic-nac? One that I don't have to get only at say a castle or art museum? These are not on my list this time (she said hopefully).

Now, ahem, but DEAR BADLY BEHAVED BLOGGERS AND MEDIA WHIZ-O-MATICS, on both sides, I call foul. This shit is just getting boring. Your assumptions and attitudes about gender are so completely out of date it's nearly laughable.

Women politicians are not to be evaluated on their clothing, their hair, their families, or their relative cuteness. My sweet gods. Hillary's not mommy enough because she won't bake cookies, and then she's shrill, and then she's a ballbuster, and then she couldn't control her husband so how would she run a country (psst ... countries are much easier to control than any one person, as we have all witness these last 8 dark years), and then.... Oh, help us, a girl might be in power!

Oh. No. Then. We. Won't. Be. Men. Anymore.

Please. Be men. I've been waiting.

And women. In many cases, I've been waiting for you too.

But, at least that was all just bluster and balderdash, a epiphenomenon covering the real deal: her politics, her scary health care plan that threatened your lobbyists and HMOs, THAT's what really bothered you. But, now that we all basically agree that without massive revision of our health insurance, and maybe of our health care system, we are fucked economically, as in bankrupt -- well, we have go after her voice, her style, her .... --- you chickens.

RE: Palin. Holy Mother, why have you all suddenly turned into TMZ? What? She's a cultural conservative. Ok. We should have a national talk about cultural conservatism, about the culture wars, about the various positions all sorts of people take on these issues. Many of tribe have studied these fights: their points of debate and digression and red herring. We can help you do this. Or, maybe discuss and question how her personal creed will play into her policy agenda, her advise to the Prez? Oh, that would be hard. Let's pick on the kid.

Get the tar and feathers because she and her family are all mortal humans. Flawed, confused sometimes, muddling through, struggling to live up their highest values and better angels. Is that all you've got?

Piety. Sanctimony. Salacious gossip. -- Obama has a point. THIS we have to get beyond.

Abuse of power in her own trooper-gate -- maybe. But, you know, threaten my family and all bets are off. That's a fairly American and bi-partisan value. Dad had a few and got stopped by the cops? And??? Not cool, not laudable, true that. What does this have to do with the bat-shit idea of drilling in ANWR, here and now? Her kid's knocked up. And? Your kids never sneaked off and did something you were completely unaware of, something with life altering consequences? She can't be VP and keep raising her family and her new born who has Downs syndrome? Really. Because there is no reliable, high quality child care available for such situations... And her husband, you know, might be around to help.... And just what does Palin think of redefining many forms of contraception as abortion and leaving their prescription and use up to the personal creed, or whim, of medical care providers rather than the patient's choice/need?

Because, dears, we don't all live in megalopoli where we can just go get us a new doc if we come to moral loggerheads with the available doc.

I don't want a cultural conservative making my policy, not anymore. Thanks. Done with making the world safe for God and assuaging the paranoia of the "persecuted".

Done with my rights and creed being over-ridden by those of people sworn to my well-being.

I want something serious. Real talking, actual attempts to understand before reaction. I know, I do dream.

Interestingly, my 18 year old students are non-plussed. They're all sitting here, waiting for the so-called grown-ups to get them some useful information on her record, on policy, on her political mores. They can't all be trusted to do their homework, but they can be trusted to want some intellectual and political meat from the rest of us.

They might be fooled by watching Lieberman lie through his teeth about Obama's bi-partisan cooperation, but not for long, and not about this.

These kids are leagues ahead of your fear, your desire for revenge, and your general pot-stirring. They know people vote for non-relevant reasons. They wish you would be more reticent to supply those reasons.