"She should be home with her baby"

By now, you all likely know that Sen. John McCain has selected Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.
What you may not know is that Gov. Palin is the mother of five children, aged 18 years to 5 months old.
The 5-month-old is a son named Trig who happens to have Down's Syndrome. This fact motivated some people (women especially) to comment that Gov. Palin should stay home with her baby.
Are you kidding me? It is this type of attitude that has hurt ambitious, successful women for years. Not only do ambitious women have to fight to get where they are, but in my experience, they have to face scrutiny and negativeness from their own gender.
For shame, for shame, ladies.
When I see a woman in a position of power, I celebrate. Kickass, I think, because I know how hard she has fought to get there.
But let me promise you this, as a woman myself with my own ambitions, I can promise you that a woman who is in a position of power and is a mother has made the commitment to herself and her children to take care of herself and her children.
If it means going without sleep, she will go without sleep.
Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean that it's not "right," in your view. And of course, in Gov. Palin's case, she has a great support network surrounding her, including a husband who is willing to be home with the baby. She also has a support network of aunts, uncles, and her own parents.
So judge not, lest ye be judged.
Celebrate, for Pete's sake.
A woman has made it onto the Republican ticket. And a woman who has made it there has figured out how to take care of her children and make sure their needs are met.

Beyond Her Looks

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been picked as the vice president to McCain's president.
Up until now, most people didn't know the name "Sarah Palin," and for the masses of men out there, she's not "Sarah, Plain and Tall."
She's "Sarah, Sexy Mother of Five."
I listened to comments from men around me from Friday morning up through today. Our friend in Iraq claimed to his wife, "I'm in love!"
He's in love with Sarah Palin.
I admit, she's very nice looking, and if that gets men excited (and some women, too), then that's OK.
But beyond her looks, she's been picked in a very historic moment for the Republican Party when they had to find a way to take the spotlight off Obama.
Palin is 44; she gave birth to a baby with Down's Syndrome in April, choosing not to abort even though she knew the baby would be born this way; her husband is a member of a union and a part-time oilfield worker (hello, drilling!); her oldest son is headed off to Iraq.
And let's face it, she's a woman and the Republicans want to court the women in the Democratic party who had supported Hillary Clinton.
It's an amazing combination, and a very smart political move on McCain's part.
Now let's hope there aren't too many skeletons, and that McCain properly vetted this seemingly perfect vice presidential candidate.

Reading. Lots and Lots of Reading.

That's what the semester will be for me.
More reading this semester than last semester, let me tell you.
And what is it with idiots? Let me explain.
So I have this Business Ethics class. The prof is spectacular, very engaging, very funny, etc.
Most students in the class bring laptops to take notes, but on that note, the prof asked everyone to please, please, please, don't spend your time in class e-mailing or reading the newspaper online or doing other things on the computer that distract from learning.
It's just a courtesy, and it's a simple thing called respect.
Silly me, I just thought that everyone in the class would respect what the prof was asking for, but there was that one student who had to raise his hand and argue with the prof about e-mailing in class.
"If you don't know that I'm doing it, what does it matter?"
I have a feeling the prof is going to find out.

Doing Away With Plastic Trays

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,409783,00.html

University cafeterias apparently are doing away with those plastic trays, for green reasons, largely.
When we were in undergraduate at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, we used these trays as sleds in the winter on memorial hill outside Taylor Hall. You better stash some trays so that more people can fly down memorial hill!

Michelle's Speech

She was passionate and very well-spoken. I am a fan of pundit Juan Williams, an African American journalist and historian, and I watched him turn somewhat emotional over seeing a 44-year-old African American woman in the running for First Lady of the United States.
It is at moments like this that my pride swells for this country.
I knew we could get here, and I am so proud that we are here.
We had the hokey parts, of course, including the story of how Barack asked her to go for ice cream.
But they need to show that they're just like ordinary Americans, and I guess that this makes up for his arugula comment early in the primaries.
As Pundit Charles Krauthammer said, "It had all the hokem elements, and it worked." He opined that the two girls talking to their father who was there via satellite was "cuteness squared."
Michelle also has to make up for the earlier comment that this was the first time in her adulthood that she was proud of her country. Hence, the, "I love this country," comments in her speech.
All that aside, I may not always agree with their positions, but I do celebrate where they are.
"If I stand beside you, it's because I have risen with you."

Pointing Out Hypocrisy

Of course, the DNC conference in Denver was going to give me a lot to write about.
But the only thing I have to say right now is that can you imagine if Republicans opened their convention in this way?
It's amazing to me how in general, liberal Democrats have mocked and chided President Bush for his faith.
But alas, Obama and Biden need to court the conservative Christian vote. So now, it's OK to pray in public and be open about one's religious views.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080825/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_democrats_faith
Watch another side to this: Michelle Obama has invoked use of the phrase, "Ready to roll," which one can point out is a variation of the phrase, "Let's roll," from the heroes who were on the flight that crashed in Pennsylvania on 9-11.
Just pointing out a bit of political psychology, that's all. (To put it more bluntly, I am saying that's she's using a psychological tactic to appeal to voters), as in, "No matter what happened with 9-11, we'll take charge."

Obama's Veep

I deleted my poll because Obama has made his choice for veep, and it's Delaware Sen. Joe Biden.
See the story here http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D92NVG7G0&show_article=1