Sarah Palin’s rant of lies in Clearwater, Florida this week is a low point in American politics, as reported by the Washington Post here is an excerpt:

“So I was reading the New York Times and I was really interested to read about Barack’s friends from Chicago.”

It was time to revive the allegation, made over the weekend, that Obama “pals around” with terrorists, in this case Bill Ayers, late of the Weather Underground. Many independent observers say Palin’s allegations are a stretch; Obama served on a Chicago charitable board with Ayers, now an education professor, and has condemned his past activities.

“Now it turns out, one of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers,” Palin said.

“Boooo!” said the crowd.

“And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, ‘launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,’” she continued.

“Boooo!” the crowd repeated.

“Kill him!” proposed one man in the audience.

nod: Steph

In case you have no idea who Sarah Palin is, below is an excerpt from her profile in Dickipedia: http://www.dickipedia.org/dick.php?title=Sarah_Palin

Sarah Palin began her shockingly easy ascent from second place in a beauty pageant to potential second-in-command of the world’s largest nuclear arsenal from her birth on February 11, 1964, a birthday she shares with Burt Reynolds, Jeb Bush, Sheryl Crow, and TV’s Moesha, who also had her share of run-ins with unplanned pregnancy. Born Sarah Louise Heath in Sandpoint, Idaho, Palin grew up mostly in Wasilla, Alaska, a town that has also given the world porn actress April Flowers, star of such classics as Dead Men Don’t Wear Rubbers, Sodomania Slop Shots 9, and 100% Blowjobs 32, 26, 21, and, to a lesser extent, 18. As a student and basketball player at Wasilla High School, she earned the nickname “Sarah Barracuda,” presumably for her powerful jaws, bony web-like fins, and small smooth scales.

In 1984, Palin won the Miss Wasilla Pageant, a feat that sounds a lot more impressive than it is unless you’ve ever met a girl from Wasilla, few of whom have either a full set of teeth or a vacant womb. She then finished runner up in the Miss Alaska pageant, a feat that sounds a lot more impressive than it is considering the state is nearly 75% male.

After attending Hawaii Pacific University for a semester—apparently it wasn’t enough of a party school for her—Palin transferred to North Idaho College and then University of Idaho. In 1987, she received a BS in communications, with a minor in political science. That’s right, a poli-sci minor. VP candidate Joe Biden’s 30-plus-year career as U.S. senator pales in comparison, and anyone who says different is sexist.

you can get pregnant at seventeen and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter even as black and Latino families with similar “challenges” are irresponsible, pathological arbiters of social decay.

when you can call yourself a “fuckin’ redneck,” and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you’ll “kick their fuckin’ ass,” and talk about how you like to “shoot shit” for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.

you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college.

you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with fewer people than the Akron, Ohio, metro area makes you ready to potentially be President, and people don’t all piss on themselves with laughter.

being able to say that you support the words “under God” in the pledge of allegiance because “if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it’s good enough for me,” and not be immediately disqualified from holding office–since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the “under God” part wasn’t added until the 1950s.

being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you.

being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God’s punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you’re just a good church-going Christian.

being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has referred to it, a “light” burden.

Excerpted from: White Privilege, White Entitlement and the 2008 Election by Tim Wise

A couple of days ago I posted an excerpt from Time magazine, documenting claims that Sarah Palin tried to force the Wasilla, Alaska librarian to ban books. It turned out the focus of the ban was focused on a kid’s book, Daddy’s Roommate, written by award-winning author Michael Willhoite and based on Palin’s fervent anti-gay agenda, as reported in the New York Times.

But in 1995, Ms. Palin, then a city councilwoman, told colleagues that she had noticed the book “Daddy’s Roommate” on the shelves and that it did not belong there, according to Ms. Chase [Laura Chase, the campaign manager during Ms. Palin's first run for mayor in 1996] and Mr. Stein [John Stein, former Mayor of Wasilla]. Ms. Chase read the book, which helps children understand homosexuality, and said it was inoffensive; she suggested that Ms. Palin read it. “Sarah said she didn’t need to read that stuff,” Ms. Chase said. “It was disturbing that someone would be willing to remove a book from the library and she didn’t even read it.”

The book in question is a children’s book written in 1991 – and is slightly dated. According to the publisher, here is a description of the book:

This story’s narrator begins with his parent’s divorce and continues with the arrival of “someone new at Daddy’s house”. The new arrival is male. This new concept is explained to the child as “just one more kind of love”. The text is suitably straightforward, and the format–single lines of copy beneath full-page illustrations–easily accessible to the intended audience.
 
Annotation:
A young boy named Nick introduces readers to life with his divorced father and his father’s roommate/lifemate, a man named Frank. Nick openly explains what life is like for his father and Frank–stating that they “live together, work together and sleep together.” He then goes on to explain how he has a positive relationship with both men, enjoying such activities as gardening, shopping, and going to the beach. Nick concludes his story by stating his belief that “being gay is just one more kind of love. And love is the best kind of happiness.” Watercolor illustrations accompany the text.

Maybe I’m being oversensitive – but as an American, I find the notion of banning a book – especially a children’s book to be appalling.  This is especially true for the very few book aimed at children of lesbian and gay parents who are just discovering their families may not look like their friend’s family. As Publisher’s Weekly put it:

This picture book is an auspicious beginning to the Alyson Wonderland imprint, “which focuses on books for and about the children of lesbian and gay parents.” That the venture is being undertaken is in itself commendable: consciousness-raising concerning gay issues can handily begin at an early age with the help of books such as Willhoite’s. His text is suitably straightforward, and the format–single lines of copy beneath full-page illustrations–easily accessible to the intended audience. The story’s narrator begins with his parents’ divorce, and continues, “Now there’s somebody new at Daddy’s house.” The new arrival is male; Frank and Daddy are seen pursuing their daily routine (eating, shaving, sleeping–even fighting), and on weekends the three interact easily on their various outings. “Mommy says Frank and Daddy are gay”–this new concept is explained to the child as “just one more kind of love.” Willhoite’s cartoony pictures work well here; the colorful characters with their contemporary wardrobes and familiar surroundings lend the tale a stabilizing air of warmth and familiarity. Ages 2-5. (Dec.)

Something tells me Sarah Palin wasn’t the only thing not vetted properly.

…as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. “She asked the library how she could go about banning books,” he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. “The librarian was aghast.” That woman, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn’t be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving “full support” to the mayor.

WTF?

This politcian must be stopped.