Republican presidential candidate John McCain announced his vice presidential running mate yesterday, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, 44.
Casey Mayville reports for Government Technology, “Elected governor in 2006, Palin became Alaska’s first female governor, as well as its youngest. She will be the first politician from Alaska to run on a national ticket in a campaign for vice president.”
“Palin has made efforts to expand the use of technology in Alaska. In 2007, Palin announced a new online training program for workforce development. The Work Ready/College Ready program helped to assess skills and offered training courses,” Mayville reports. “‘The skills needed to enter many vocations are similar to the skills needed to get into college,’ explained Palin at the time. ‘Work Ready/College Ready lets students know what level of skill they need for the occupations they’re interested in, how well they match up in those skill levels and it provides training to reach their goals.'”
Full article here.
More about Alaska’s “Work Ready/College Ready” program that was announced by Sarah Palin last August via GovTech here.
Carrie Tait reports for The Financial Post,” Ms. Palin, 44, is a lifetime NRA member who is in charge of a conservative state. She’s bullish on drilling offshore and opening up more of the contentious Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to exploration and production. ‘People are realizing, too, there’s been some deception, I think, from some on what ANWR is all about. Of the 20 million acres up there, we’re looking at 2,000 acres as a footprint,’ she said in the interview. ‘With new technology, with directional drilling, maybe that footprint [will] shrink even more.'”
MacDailyNews Note: CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo talks with Sarah Palin about ANWR drilling, which also touches on technology, in an 11:41 video interview here.
Stefanie Olsen reports for CNET, “Mead Treadwell, a technology-focused venture capitalist and chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, a federal advisory commission to President Bush and Congress on Arctic research issues, said he met Palin when she was the mayor of Wasilla, a small town in Alaska. Treadwell said that she has long been open-minded about the need for technology to solve problems.”
“‘We’re a natural energy economy and you can’t drill on- or offshore without bringing the best technology, like 3D seismic technology to find areas for drilling, directional drilling to exploit it, and satellites. She’s supportive of new tech,’ Treadwell said,” Olsen reports.
“Palin’s father-in-law was at one time staff officer at the Alaska Science and Technology Foundation, the state’s seed capital fund for technology. According to Treadwell, she was critical of her incumbent Republican rival Frank Murkowski in 2006 when he shut the foundation down. In her inaugural address as governor, she emphasized the value of research into science and technology,” Olsen reports.
“Despite Alaska’s absence of a big tech industry, the state’s chief industries, oil and gas, as well as some telecommunications, require cutting-edge technology. Treadwell said that in discussions with Palin about balancing development vs. the environment, she typically points to technology as a solution,” Olsen reports.
Full article here.
While we’re still exploring exactly which tech devices Palin uses currently, Bridget Carey reported yesterday for The Miami Herald of “the BlackBerry-wielding Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who had bloggers buzzing early Friday about her tech-centric lifestyle. She’s also three years younger than Obama.”
MacDailyNews Take: Send Palin an iPhone immediately, Apple!
As for Obama’s V.P. pick, Joseph Biden, 65, Carey reports, “The technology issue isn’t so much of his wired lifestyle as it is about his past stances on technology issues like Internet freedom and privacy. Biden has spoken out against peer-to-peer networks that allow the sharing of music and other copyrighted material. On the topic of Internet privacy, he is in favor of allowing communications companies to hand over a user’s personal information to the government, but with the intention to crack down on child porn and piracy.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Michael R.,” “Dennis,” and “Jen” for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Note: If anyone has links to articles and/or photos of Palin and technology (listening to her iPod, using a Mac, or even a ratty old Dell) or any of the other candidates – Biden, McCain, and/or Obama – please send them to the MacDailyNews Webmaster (link below) for inclusion in this or future articles.
“Not one post in over 5 pages of this threat has been spent explaining his accomplishment or qualifications, “
And yet all Barry Obama’s qualifications have been presented.
“She is younger, has only held her Governorship for 18 months–Obama has been Senator for three years, “
Yet being a governor, you have to make decisions and actually direct a substantial organization to get things done and deal with a lot of people who may not agree with you. Being a senator you have to talk and give your opinion on things and be able to manage a small staff all who work for you.
I’d rather have an inexperienced governor as VP than an inexperienced senator as President.
It’s clear now what the real vote for change will be this election.
Superior Being wrote:
Zogby, 8/30/2008:
McCain/Palin: 47%
Obama/Biden: 45%
Negative “bounce” for Obama and the Ol’ Plagiarist.
Those who do not get a convention bounce or, worse, lose voters, do not fare well in elections.
http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews1547.html
That’s around a 10-percentage point turnaround in the first day!
With Palin, McCain simply erased the entire Democrat convention.
Here we go, indeed!
After going through the articles linked from MDN, I have come to appreciate the hoops MDN had to go through to portray Palin as “pro-technology” in any serious way. I mean, from the McCullough article:
On the tech policy side, Palin has almost no record on issues such as Net neutrality, data privacy, and wiretapping. But there’s one exception that’s sure to pique the interest of privacy advocates: on May 28, Palin signed a bill that would make Alaska the ninth state to not comply with the Real ID Act, a federal law requiring national identification cards.
“It’s something to reflect on as far as caring about people’s privacy,” said Cord Blomquist, technology policy analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington, D.C.
The few “issues” which relate in some way to science in the other articles are things like:
* Better access to health care info
* Web based education courses
* Last year, Palin made deep cuts in Alaska’s budget that affected … renewable-energy initiatives.
Wow! How impressive!
So we can tell she supports totally noncontrovesial access to basic info that anyone would support via initiatives she didn’t create.
Yay.
This is like saying she “supports cancer research”. Who doesn’t?! No one is in favor of cancer. But what if the cure for cancer involves research with embryonic stem cells? What’s her position on that? I sure don’t know, but given her radical anti-choice stand and fervent godbaggery I think I can guess!
My joke about dinosaurs on Noah’s Ark is to point out the silliness of labeling someone as “good on science issues” while they believe creationism is in any way a valid alternative for schools to biological evolution. The “faux reasonable” approach, that “we should just teach both and let the kids decide” is a cop-out. Should we teach that there are some people who think the Holocaust was faked and present both views evenly and “let the kids decide”? Educationally the only stance on creationism that should be acceptable to people who want to see America pre-eminent in science should be that creationism should only be taught from the standpoint of how wrong and stupid it is. Any other position is just dumbing down our students.
MacDailyNews Take on Net Netutrality:
“We urge careful consideration as legislation often produces unintended consequences.”
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/16382/
Agreed 100%.
The earth sucks!!! Leave now!!!
Mike – if you’re worried about “unintended consequences” of “new legislation” then you should be 100% in FAVOR of Net Neutrality! Becuase a neutral internet is the way it is NOW! No NEW legislation is required to make it non-neutral. It is the huge telcos who want the NEW legislation to allow them to alter the fundamental structure of the Internet (which seems to be working pretty well so far, I’d say!)
George Bush was a governor, Jimmy Carter was a Governor and look where that got us.
Just being a Governor does not mean you will do a good job as president.
Like I said–Palin may be as qualified as any of these yahoos–
John McCain just picked somebody that he did not believe had the necessary experience…if you believe his experience arguments against Obama, that is…
So, is this a tech story? seems to me that the republicans would like to smother the election with a beauty queen. Do you really feel safe having this lady in charge on a 3am emergency?
The question is really, are we better off with the republicans in charge? If I recall, they had a zealot who wanted to cap internet usage because he thought we were using a series of Pipes that get clogged.
Didn’t the internet open up with Al Gore stressing the importance of cyber innovation? I know he mis-spoke with his creating the internet speech, but I see more RIAA, internet-squelching belicosity coming our way for another 4 years
“Obama has far less experience than Palin. “
Just stop it.
He’s 72 years old. Has had 4 bouts of cancer.
Who’s finger do you want on the nuke button:
Biden’s?
Or Governor PTA’s?
Be honest.
Literally, our country’s future is at state.
macdailyuser,
Anyone but Obama’s.
Feel safe knowing that President Palin’s fingernails will be polished red to match the nuke button.
Rheinhard: ” but given her radical anti-choice stand “
I don’t know what Rheinhard’s stand is on human life, but given his radical pro babymurdering stand…
That term is such bullshit, seriously you assholes who use it need to stop.
Have some fucking respect for people who value the sanctity of life and believe it starts at conception, even if you disagree. If you cannot do that then just shut the fuck up.
Thank you.
I happen to be moderately pro abortion rights myself but I have NOTHING in common with someone who would use that bullshit term.
ccap1: “John McCain just picked somebody that he did not believe had the necessary experience…if you believe his experience arguments against Obama, that is…”
We’ve gone over this to death. Palin is vastly more qualified to be president than Obama.
Next subject please, this one is getting boring.
Amazing that anyone smart enough to use a Mac would be dumb enough to support a senile old fart like McCain, much less a right-wing nobody like Palin. Unbelievable!
macdailyuser,
I’ll take Palin before Obama or Biden in a heartbeat. She’s got real character, integrity, and she’s stood up to corruption and won.
Obama? You seriously have to be kidding me, I wouldn’t trust him to protect me from a stray dog, let alone a terrorist organization. Hell one of his friends is a former terrorist.
jake,
Amusing but stupid.
It’s hard to take you libs seriously when you want to dumb the debate down to the fact that Palin was a former beauty queen. Nice typical misogyny I’ve come to expect from liberals. When the woman is not a rabid liberal its even worse.
Clarence Thomas is another example of this BS, he’s black but he has the “wrong” views so suddenly he’s intellectually unqualified and unable to think for himself.
The real party that’s not sexist or racist or bigoted is Republicans, I hate to say it. But it’s true.
alansky: “Amazing that anyone smart enough to use a Mac would be dumb enough to support a senile old fart like McCain, much less a right-wing nobody like Palin. Unbelievable!”
You got anything more worthwhile to contribute here or you just going to be a troll?
This is rich:
“Palin’s mother-in-law, Faye Palin, told a New York Daily News reporter that she didn’t agree with Sarah on everything and hadn’t yet decided how she would vote. She added: “I’m not sure what she brings to the ticket other than she’s a woman and a conservative. Well, she’s a better speaker than McCain,” Faye Palin said with a laugh.”
This come from Palin’s own mother-in-law. WOW!
Democrats are in a full-out panic.
Obama is the fake, old news, pop celebrity of yesterday.
Remember the fraud, pop-disco music duo Milli Vanilli in the late 1980s?
Obama and Biden.
You want real change you can believe in?
Governor Palin. A woman. Self-made (as opposed to Hillary “riding the coat tails of Bill” Clinton).
Panic in Obamaland.
@macdailyuser
Regarding Candidate’s health:
You do realize that Joe Biden (age 65) has had two (2) brain aneurysms and almost died from one of the brain surgeries.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940de5d81739f937a35756c0a96e948260
——-
Plus Biden suffers from extreme foot-in-mouth disease.
Firstly, back in the day when I was born, if my mother wanted to have an abortion she would have had to use a backstreet abortionist. I’m not sure how I’d feel about a child of mine being aborted, but I’d prefer the women I love and care about to have the opportunity to have a safe procedure in a clinic that is properly regulated.
Maybe – before you guys all take a vote that could effectively restrict a woman’s right to choose – you should have a think about how that might affect your sisters or daughters. And let’s not be like Bob Barr – arguing against a woman’s right to choose whilst either encouraging his wife to have an abortion or acquiescing in her request to have one (delete according to whether you believe the politician or his wife).
The big question with Ms. Palin is not her stance on abortion now, even with her laudable decision to go ahead with the birth of a Downs Syndrome child whom she obviously loves: it would be where she stood if one of her children was to become an “unplanned” parent at an early stage in their life or as a result of rape.
Secondly, I’m reading a lot here about Ms. Palin’s stance against corruption, but – from what I can tell – that stand was largely against members of her own party who were (let’s be polite) “compromised” by relationships to the oil services industry, including the Chief of Staff of her Republican predecessor.
Whilst politicians who “blow the whistle” are to be applauded, here’s a question: if a hypothetical investigation in the future showed that a senior member of the current administration had behaved in an unethical manner and the McCain administration tried to supress or mitigate – by way of pardon or whatever – the investigation in any way, would Ms. Palin resign on a point of principle? Or would she fall into line?
These are far more important questions than how she feels about Macs because they actually speak to her character. And – before the Republicans start telling me to mind my own business – I’ll do that when US policy-making stops affecting what happens in my own country and I’d extend the questions on ethics to both members of both main tickets.
A functioning democracy needs to be based on transparency on all levels (process and people): the last thing the USA can afford is another eight years of finger-pointing, smears and innuendo about the links between legislators and corporate interests; the challenges facing the country and its position on the world stage demand that the nation act with a single purpose – that is only possible if the electorate can bring themselves to unequivocally support their political leaders for maybe eight to twelve years.
twilightmoon,
to say that obama is white because he was raised by his white mother is laughable. while he is bi-racial, society as a who will always view him, and judge him, on his dark skin and black ancestry.
i know, i speak from experience. my mother is korean and my father is black. when i get a speeding ticket the cop doesn’t check off the other, or asian box, he/she checks off the one that says black. i was called a nigger way before i was ever called a gook.
my father passed when i was young, and i was raised by my mom. by your logic i should be considered an asian american. personally, i view myself as being both. i really have no choice otherwise, but i’m viewed by the greater society as one, not the other, and only views me as both when asked about my nationality. when asked about my nationality, i always say american. i’m as proud of being an american as i am of my mixed ethnicity.
you don’t seem to have an understanding that society doesn’t treat people of mixed ethnicity in terms of who the parent is that raised them. mixed-raced/ethnic people are viewed, and judged, based on the prejudices people have regarding the color of the darker parent.
To the palin supporters:
What are your views on a recent editorial in the Daily News-Miner in Fairbanks, Alaska which stated that although Gov. Palin was against the “bridge to no where” she kept the money? (source: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003844472)
Granted, all states want as much federal money that they can get. However, if you’re against a project, and obscene pork barrel spending, don’t keep the money. But like the article states, “any governor who would turn that tax money down likely would be turned out of office.”
Sorry to my conservative friends (written with sarcasm), but here’s a very simple reason why your “Sara Palin has more executive experience than Obama / the entire Democratic ticket” argument doesn’t hold up:
remember the last state governor who had “executive experience” to get into the White House? His name is George W. Bush, and we all know how well that went.
Now before any of you try to counter with “Clinton was also a state governor before he became president” (which is a valid argument) the country was MUCH better off under him than under Bush, no matter how you try to spin it.
Point is, Palin’s so-called “executive experience” or Obama’s supposed lack thereof is totally beside the point. McCain’s choice of a potential VP with absolutely ZERO foreign policy experience and ZERO tested ability to deal with the serious socio-economic issues that are currently plaguing America (running a fairly well off state like Alaska hardly qualifies her to run the most powerful nation on earth if something happens to McCain, should he become president) seriously calls his judgement into question.
Plus, isn’t she currently being investigated in her own state for improper abuse of her “executive” power?
I’m by no means a fan of Joe Biden, trust me – as an Obama supporter I was initially seriously pissed when Biden was chosen – but when it comes to being ready to run the show if something bad happened to the commander-in-chief, I’d take Biden over Palin any day of the week.
The debates should be fun to watch.
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BTW, Obama is a Mac user too; he uses MacBooks to communicate with his kids while he’s campaigning, and AFAIK has just recently acquired an iPhone.
james73: “This come from Palin’s own mother-in-law. WOW!”
yawn.
Apparently you don’t have any in-laws.
james73: “to say that obama is white because he was raised by his white mother is laughable. while he is bi-racial, society as a who will always view him, and judge him, on his dark skin and black ancestry.”
I don’t claim to speak for “society” I speak for myself. I see him as a white dood.