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The Mayans were right!
12 February 2011
Apparently the world WILL end in 2012, as some folks claim the Mayans predicted.* Well, at least common sense, wisdom, intelligence and likely many freedoms will end, if not necessarily all life as we know it.
Why? Because it seems Sarah Palin - the dimwit who ran for vice president against Obama in 2008 - seems to be planning to run for president in 2012, according to media speculation.
Palin, the poster girl for the lowest common denominator among ultra-right Christian fundamentalists and poorly-educated drop-out Americans, has been paired by some commentators as a running mate with bad-haired, billionaire entrepreneur Donald Trump. Trump has been hinting loudly that he would run for president himself, in 2012.
Trump appears to believe that running a business, or in his case resorts, a game show and casinos, somehow gifts political savvy and knowledge of the bureaucracy. It's a common fallacy among business owners and operators that one can run a government like a business. Using the same logic, one could as easily take on the role of Pope, simply because one has experience in selling wafers and wine. Or become the Dalai Lama because one sells beads.
Voters concerned about America's rising unemployment rate, might want to consider Trump's TV show, where he is famous for saying "You're fired" rather often. You think a billionaire will give much consideration to the travails of the working class?
Palin, of course, has provided talk show hosts and comedians for enough material to cover their careers. Her future presidential efforts could allow successive generations of comedians to prosper.
While Trump may be misled about his abilities to govern, Palin is merely misled. About pretty much everything, but particularly about international affairs, geography, sex, human rights, health care, religion, guns, crime, violence, mathematics, the English language, history, politics, literature, education and science.
And let's not forget she is a lifetime member of the NRA and avid hunter. Palin publicly applauded the Supreme Court's ruling that struck down the District of Columbia's 32-year-old ban on handguns. On her Facebook page, Palin painted crosshair targets on 20 Democrats who voted for President Obama's health care plan. One of them was Gabrielle Giffords, later target of a later assassination attempt. Palin tweeted, "Don't retreat, RELOAD!" While she may not be directly responsible for the shootings, Palin's stupid and puerile use of inflammatory rhetoric has been suggested as contributing to the violence that led to the death of a 9-year-old girl.
Palin will also be remembered as the woman who rose from mayor of a small town in Alaska to become state governor, then quit. Which doesn't bode well for her prospects as president. As Bill Maher quipped, "Are you kidding me, the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska? Yeah, that’s who you want in the White House during a time of crisis. When she got a phone call at 3 in the morning, it was because a moose had gotten in the garbage can."
As mayor, Palin had an autocratic view of her position, not unlike a certain local ex-mayor. When her colleague, (now former) city councillor Nick Carney, raised objections about Palin spending $50,000 to renovate her office without approval of the city, Palin retorted, "I'm the mayor, I can do whatever I want until the courts tell me I can't." Great model of behaviour for a head of state.
On the other hand, the fact she quit her job mid-term bodes well for opponents (and probably most thoughtful Americans), who don't think she'd stick it out, even if she won the presidency.
Sarah Palin is, after all, the only candidate who could make George Bush look like a genius. And in a democracy, it's been said, people get the government they deserve. But how bad do you have to be to deserve Donald Trump or Sarah Palin as your leader?
~~~~~
* To be fair to the often misinterpreted Mayans, all they ever suggested was that their calendar would end it's current long cycle in 2012 and that a new one would begin. Interpretations about the world ending are from quacks and cranks in the early 21st century and spread to gullible millions thanks to the Internet. Unfortunately, the Mayans aren't around to explain themselves, since their civilization collapsed in the 9th century CE. But like Nigerian wealth scams and Russian bride scams, Mayan end-of-the-world prophecies manage to perpetuate online.
Why? Because it seems Sarah Palin - the dimwit who ran for vice president against Obama in 2008 - seems to be planning to run for president in 2012, according to media speculation.
Palin, the poster girl for the lowest common denominator among ultra-right Christian fundamentalists and poorly-educated drop-out Americans, has been paired by some commentators as a running mate with bad-haired, billionaire entrepreneur Donald Trump. Trump has been hinting loudly that he would run for president himself, in 2012.
Trump appears to believe that running a business, or in his case resorts, a game show and casinos, somehow gifts political savvy and knowledge of the bureaucracy. It's a common fallacy among business owners and operators that one can run a government like a business. Using the same logic, one could as easily take on the role of Pope, simply because one has experience in selling wafers and wine. Or become the Dalai Lama because one sells beads.
Voters concerned about America's rising unemployment rate, might want to consider Trump's TV show, where he is famous for saying "You're fired" rather often. You think a billionaire will give much consideration to the travails of the working class?
While Trump may be misled about his abilities to govern, Palin is merely misled. About pretty much everything, but particularly about international affairs, geography, sex, human rights, health care, religion, guns, crime, violence, mathematics, the English language, history, politics, literature, education and science.
And let's not forget she is a lifetime member of the NRA and avid hunter. Palin publicly applauded the Supreme Court's ruling that struck down the District of Columbia's 32-year-old ban on handguns. On her Facebook page, Palin painted crosshair targets on 20 Democrats who voted for President Obama's health care plan. One of them was Gabrielle Giffords, later target of a later assassination attempt. Palin tweeted, "Don't retreat, RELOAD!" While she may not be directly responsible for the shootings, Palin's stupid and puerile use of inflammatory rhetoric has been suggested as contributing to the violence that led to the death of a 9-year-old girl.
Palin will also be remembered as the woman who rose from mayor of a small town in Alaska to become state governor, then quit. Which doesn't bode well for her prospects as president. As Bill Maher quipped, "Are you kidding me, the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska? Yeah, that’s who you want in the White House during a time of crisis. When she got a phone call at 3 in the morning, it was because a moose had gotten in the garbage can."
As mayor, Palin had an autocratic view of her position, not unlike a certain local ex-mayor. When her colleague, (now former) city councillor Nick Carney, raised objections about Palin spending $50,000 to renovate her office without approval of the city, Palin retorted, "I'm the mayor, I can do whatever I want until the courts tell me I can't." Great model of behaviour for a head of state.
On the other hand, the fact she quit her job mid-term bodes well for opponents (and probably most thoughtful Americans), who don't think she'd stick it out, even if she won the presidency.
Sarah Palin is, after all, the only candidate who could make George Bush look like a genius. And in a democracy, it's been said, people get the government they deserve. But how bad do you have to be to deserve Donald Trump or Sarah Palin as your leader?
~~~~~
* To be fair to the often misinterpreted Mayans, all they ever suggested was that their calendar would end it's current long cycle in 2012 and that a new one would begin. Interpretations about the world ending are from quacks and cranks in the early 21st century and spread to gullible millions thanks to the Internet. Unfortunately, the Mayans aren't around to explain themselves, since their civilization collapsed in the 9th century CE. But like Nigerian wealth scams and Russian bride scams, Mayan end-of-the-world prophecies manage to perpetuate online.
