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.
For the many who seem to have missed it:
Sarah Palin is Christian and pro-life, but also a supporter of birth control: she’s a member of Feminists For Life (FFL), an anti-abortion, pro-contraception organization. In 2002, she wrote a letter to FFL stating that she had “adamantly supported our cause since I first understood, as a child, the atrocity of abortion.
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1837523_1837531_1837538,00.html
Sarah Palin is causing you Libs to lose your collective shit. Seriously, you knee-jerkers are blind with insane rage over her very existence.
Palin will be the downfall of the Liberal Democrat as she is exposing all the Libs for what they are: unthinking, morally-reprehensible, destroyers-at-any-cost (truth be damned) of anything that does not match their warped/preconceived notions of a world that does not match reality.
Simply hoping for things, no matter how desperately, will not make them so.
@TheDude – Twilightmoon has told is he is bipolar. This is just a huge manic episode that he has no control over. He’ll crash soon and sleep for a couple of days.
twilightmoon – go back on your meds! This can’t be good for you!
“unlike black people white men have never had to go through the end of slavery”
—
http://www.civilwarhome.com/casualties.htm
” At least 618,000 Americans died in the Civil War, and some experts say the toll reached 700,000. The number that is most often quoted is 620,000. At any rate, these casualties exceed the nation’s loss in all its other wars, from the Revolution through Vietnam.
The Union armies had from 2,500,000 to 2,750,000 men. Their losses, by the best estimates:”
So about 360k men died in the Union army alone.
How many white men actually owned slaves? Was it more than that number?
There have been slaves in nearly every culture in human history. Can you find anywhere else in human history where a comparable amount of people gave up their lives to end it?
Should those people not be afforded with some respect for their sacrifice?
“twilightmoon – go back on your meds! This can’t be good for you!”
I’m quite fine, just have some time off, and was bored, there’s actually a good discussion going on between myself and a few others here. Note I have not hijacked every thread on MDN, just been yacking on this one.
Plus I’ve stayed on topic.
Now that you’ve taken a pot shot at my medical condition, do you have anything to say about the Palin nomination?
Hey “Research”, can you point me to A SINGLE CONCRETE THING that “Feminists For Life” has actually done on the “pro-contraception” as opposed to the “anti-abortion” side? Have the come down against pharmacists who refuse to fill DOCTOR AUTHORIZED contraceptive prescriptions? Have they supported the availability of contraceptives to teens? Have they ever worked WITH Planned Parenthood to provide contraceptive counseling, or do they only protest against them and throw things at women and doctors trying to go inside?
It’s really easy to just say you’re “pro-contraception” and then spend all your time picketing Planned Parenthood.
When you can get back to me with even one single concrete thing that this group has done to really increase access to contraception, I’ll entertain the idea of taking you seriously.
Rheinhard: “When you can get back to me with even one single concrete thing that this group has done to really increase access to contraception, I’ll entertain the idea of taking you seriously.”
See? You made your point without vitriol, I don’t know a damn thing about Feminists For Life so I won’t comment on them, but as I stated I haven’t argued for you to change your views, only the manner in which you express them.
I believe you have a principled position on pro abortion rights, you just sell yourself short when you spit on people who disagree with you.
My terms are not perfect, I’ll grant you that, but they are less charged and euphemistic than pro life and pro choice.
They are at least descriptive and honest.
With all due respect, if we were to permit the debate to be between the camps of “pro unborn life” and “pro abortion rights”, then there is no point to a debate because abortion rights will have already lost.
I am lot less concerned about hurting someone’s feeling by calling them anti-choice, than by allowing right-wing frames to continue to be used and simply allowing conservatives to enact their agenda unimpeded.
And as long as I’m on the subject I’m really tired in general of the calls to be “nicer”. Where were these calls for the last decade as right-wing hate radio called all liberals traitors? Look how far “being nice” got John Kerry in the last election! Maybe if he’d called the Swift Boat vets the lying bought-and-paid-for wingnut scumbags they are, he’d be in the White House now!
We have this myth that “in the old days” we used to have moderate, reasoned debates on issues and it’s only recently we have gotten too “polarized”. This is rose-colored revisionist history. There has NEVER been a time in the history of this republic that issues of great moment have been decided without acrimony! The early pamphlets (since newspapers in the 1700s were just biased partisan broadsheets as well) were filled with scurrilous irrelevant lies! Look at the vitiriol against Thomas Jefferson in his presidential election, all kinds of gossip including his relationship wth his slaves! To insist that we need to “tone it down” (especially when this directive is almost always only directed against one side), does us a great disservice.
Rheinhard: “With all due respect, if we were to permit the debate to be between the camps of “pro unborn life” and “pro abortion rights”, then there is no point to a debate because abortion rights will have already lost.”
Pro abortion rights never really won, they just had a rogue supreme court decide the issue without any democratic process involved.
Even someone who’s pro abortion rights can see the danger in this precedent.
“To insist that we need to “tone it down” (especially when this directive is almost always only directed against one side), does us a great disservice.”
You do make a good point, I’ll give you that. I still think you weaken your argument by refusing to make it with respect. You clearly have a principled position, and feel strongly about the issue, have considered it carefully, and continue to stay informed on it.
The only major problem I see from you is lack of consideration for those that are against abortion. By the way pro unborn life is not just a right/left position, it’s a human rights conflict between the rights of a pregnant female and her unborn baby. There are plenty of conservatives who are pro abortion rights, and plenty of liberals who are pro unborn life.
Also I hope you’re not saying that the moral and ethical positions behind pro abortion rights require rudeness and disrespect to win.
Have you even considered another approach to this than a head on attack?
You forgot to mention that Sarah Palin is the mother of a morally-reprehensible, unwed, pregnant daughter.
Rheinhard,
Also I did want to ask what do you think is appropriate for “free unrestricted access to abortion” do you feel that all 9 months are on the table? What freedom are you exactly arguing so strongly for?
“You forgot to mention that Sarah Palin is the mother of a morally-reprehensible, unwed, pregnant daughter.”
Don’t worry, right wing nutjobs are ok with executions.
Consider it a two for one special.
@twilightmoon: Yes, please get out of here and do this ‘thing’ you’re doing in a more appropriate place – ie. anywhere else but here – The Dude has some great suggestions to get you started. Please.
Sarah Palin is causing you Libs to lose your collective shit. Seriously, you knee-jerkers are blind with insane rage over her very existence.
Palin will be the downfall of the Liberal Democrat as she is exposing all the Libs for what they are: unthinking, morally-reprehensible, destroyers-at-any-cost (truth be damned) of anything that does not match their warped/preconceived notions of a world that does not match reality.
Simply hoping for things, no matter how desperately, will not make them so.
Too bad they’re so blind that they’re unable to see it.
twilightmoon,
i’m not saying that tens of thousands of white men didn’t die in the country during the civil war, and that the end result of the civil war was the end of slavery. i don’t discount the history of slavery in human culture. i’m not trying to make light or pass on the fact that there’s even a history of indentured servitude that also founded this country. no am i passing on the revolutionary war. what i am stating is that white men have benefited, in this country, more so than women and minority groups. during the founding of this country only white male land holder had the right to vote eventually it became all white males. women had to fight for the rights of suffrage, black people in this country at one point were counted as 3/5s of a man, initially, the civil war was fought over states rights and the preservation on the union; the end to slavery, once a subtext of the war, has become the dominate theme honor today.
i don’t disagree with on treating people with respect. i believe we’ve both had a very respectful conversation throughout our thread.
my father was born in houston, tx in 1933 and grew up in the 4th ward (the ghetto), he grew up during segregation, was in the military during military and civil desegregation, he’s a phi beta kappa. one of the things my father told me before he passed was that as a black man, i’m going to have to work twice as hard as the next guy to get ahead in life; so as to no be seen as someone who got ahead because of a handout. none, absolutely none of my white friend ever had a conversation like this with their parents.
i’m not saying that white men, women, or minority groups haven’t fought and/or lost their lives to move our country to its greater potential. what i am saying is that since the founding of our country, white men have had a built in legacy of privilege in our country that white women cannot claim, nor can any minority group.
Slavery does not mean we owe Obama the presidency.
McCain is wiser. McCain is a hero. McCain has experience. McCain has taken on his own party and won. McCain will change this country for the better.
makemineamac,
You’re contributing nothing to the discussion. If you do not like reading what I have to say, no one is forcing you to read my posts.
I do not flood MDN’s website with my political opinions, I try to stay topical as much as possible when I post here. This happens to be a political thread.
If you or The Dude, or anyone else is going to criticize me, at least say something relevant to the topic, or you’re just trolling.
Take your own advice. Please.
james73: “white men have had a built in legacy of privilege in our country that white women cannot claim, nor can any minority group.”
No argument there, however this is a two way street. Blacks cannot cheer when OJ gets acquitted, or stand by when Clarence Thomas gets his intelligence and qualifications questioned, or calling successful black men sell-outs, or look the other way when black men kill other black men in inner cities. Or say it’s ok for blacks to use the word Nigger or Nigga but say it’s a bad word that should vanish from our language.
You can’t have it both ways. Blacks that see whites as a separate race of elites and blame them for all their problems, and whites that see blacks as less than human beings are both wrong.
Just like in the case of the debate on abortion, people should treat others with respect, not doing so diminishes both sides.
Everyone should strive to better themselves and everyone should try to be an example that they’d like others to follow. No one will ever be perfect at this, but there’s definitely a difference between making an effort, and not.
3 Words:
Baby Mama Drama
Obama/Biden ’08
@Mr. T,
“Slavery does not mean we owe Obama the presidency.
McCain is wiser. McCain is a hero. McCain has experience. McCain has taken on his won party. McCain will change this country for the better.”
– Getting shot down in ‘Nam doesn’t mean we owe McCain the presidency either. He’s no more deserving of or entitled to the presidency than Hilary Clinton was on the Democratic side.
– What makes McCain wiser? his AGE? Please.
– What experience does McCain have that would make him a good president, when the fact is that other than his bi-partisan efforts regarding campaign finance reform, he hasn’t been that good of a legislator in his long years as senator of Arizona?
McCain, Bush, and the Republican lead Congress had their chance for eight years to change this country for the better and they blew it. If you think that the american people are going to give you Reps yet another chance to screw things up, you really are delusional.
Obama / Biden will win simply because people will not put up with four more years of Republican BS.
I pity the fool who can’t see the obvious:
McCain is vastly more experienced than Obama.
Read up on what McCain did other than just “getting shot down” in Nam.
You and your sniveling ilk can’t even imagine what he did for his country.
Liberal scum looking for handouts is what people really won’t put up with anymore. No time limit.
Sarah Palin. I love it when a plan comes together!
Pro abortion rights never really won, they just had a rogue supreme court decide the issue without any democratic process involved.
Even someone who’s pro abortion rights can see the danger in this precedent. – twilightmoon
Ah, and here we have another perfect example of a right-wing frame. So it was a “rogue” court, eh? really?
Can you please provide me the semantic difference between a “rogue” or “judicial activist” court,and a court which just makes any garden-variety decision that conservative ideologues don’t like? Because I have never been able to find one. The right, having decided it didn’t like expansion of rights for minorities, invented the silly concept of a “rogue” court, to explain it away.
You might be tempted to say “a rogue court is one that makes a decision out of sync with popular will”. You seem to be taking this road by arguing abortion wasn’t legalized through a “democratic process”, as if the role of the court is simply to rubber-stamp the will of 51% of the electorate. If you believe that, you don’t understand the constitution. One of the, if the single, most important roles of the court is to serve as a backstop against the “tyranny of the majority”. In other words, even if a vast majority of the population felt that it didn’t like what I had to say and would gladly pass a law to make it illegal for Rheinhard to write or speak for public consumption, it is the role of the court to say that such a law, though popular, is unconstitutional (in direct contravention of the first amendment).
Another example: Loving vs. State of Virginia. This was the case that struck down state laws banning interracial marriage as unconstitutional. Now, if, when that decision was handed down, you took a vote among Americans about whether they favored interracial marriage, the vast majority would have opposed it. Didn’t matter. It was wrong and unconstitutional. Was the court that decided this a “rogue” court?
A more recent one, and much closer to home: Kitzmiller v. Dover. This was the case that struck down the teaching of “Intelligent Design” creationism (ooh there I am being snide again, referring to ID as “creationism”…) Now the judge in this case, Judge Jones, was a conservative republican, recommended by the craziest wingnut in the Senate, Rick Santorum, and appointed by George W. Bush. As this case went to trial, you could read comments all over right-wing boards like freerepublic that “finally this kind of case is going before one of ‘our‘ judges…” But surprise! When Judge Jones fairly considered all the evidence and ruled that, yes, ID was just Biblical creationism with the serial numbers filed off, Jones was magically transformed overnight into a “<u>judicial activist</u>” in the parlance of the right.
You see? There is not a lick of difference between a “rogue” court and one that renders decisions the far right doesn’t like. The concept of a “rogue” or “judical activist” judge is simply another right-wing canard which has acheived acceptance in our discourse only because the right talks about it so much.
It is for precisely this reason that I will continue to insist on referring to anti-choice activists as such. It’s not “being mean” or “disrespectful” as you insist, as it is pushing an alternative frame for the discussion, which is the necessary first step toward moving the debate in the right direction. The fact that you tacitly accept the concept of a “rogue” court shows how important and successful this tactic can be.
Oscar Wilde: “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinion, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”
It sure shows on this site.
Turn it any way you like.. before McCain made his choice of VP.. every single political analyst and the larger percentage of Republicans chose Romney as who they thought would/should be his best pick.. Sarah Palin wasnt even on the radar (and this was one day b4 he made his decision). NOW all of a sudden, she is the best person for the job.. hands down?!?! I am not an American and i dont live in the United States (did a few years of college there), I don’t have any biases one way or the other. Its just so amazing how you guys are so good at over looking the obvious (intentionally).. like the present situation in your country and the downward progression from 8 yrs ago to now … the horrible mistakes and bad judgement that has been made from Katrina to Iraq (and all the shit in between).. wow!..lol.. and now here you go again..lol.. Obama vs. McCain… its obvious that its time for a change .. and for the shitty condition that the US is presently in.. one would think that would be enough to make it obvious that McCain is just more of the same old shit.. no rocket science at all .. screw all the talk about experience as a governor.. George Bush had tons of that.. Obama is a far better candidate than McCain.. the man is brilliant (check his speech at the Democratic convention) .. however .. that type of brilliance in a black man kinda makes white america uncomfortable.. many of them will never admit to it tho..lol..and its because of that one reason why many white democrats gonna walk on into those booths ..and the realization gonna hit em’.. and they gonna vote McCain!!.. and then on to another 4 years of shit
What the FOCK.
“be real” is right.
Fockin’ eh.
(I can’t use the real “f” word here, MDN removes my posts).
It’s OK for “twilightmoon” though.
He’s a neocon, so, anything goes, and MDN practices selective censorship.
This will probably be removed.
Because “FOCK” (Robert DeNiro) is a little too close for comfort.
It’s almost a bad word.
We don’t talk about “bad” things here.
Like a sanctimonious, confused, pawn who’s daughter will now be betrothed, probably to another teenager, because GAWD’s image in his mind wasn’t compelling enough for him to pull out early while he was plooking said daughter.
Except this boy’s future Mother in Law was hastily picked in a disingenuous (republiscam) effort to bolster the GOP ticket, as the 2nd in line to the Presidency.
By the way, isn’t it funny how GAWD sent the hurricane to New Orleans, to punish Bush for being such a FOCKUP during Katrina.
GAWD thought it apropos to cause this event during the start of the REPUBLISCAM CONVENTION.
(I’m emulating the mindset, thought process and writing style of the right wing posters on this board. This is FUN! How’m I doing?
How’m. A contraction I just made up.
Reminds me of “Gub’ment”.
Republiscam. I think I made that up. too!)
Where’s twilightmoon? Out of gas?