"On a day when buildings fell, heroes rose," Bush said. "... One of the worst days in America's history saw some of the bravest acts in America's history."
A Nation Remembers
As the nation remembers the events of 9/11, the candidates are appearing tonight at a forum in New York. Now, they will both appear together at Ground Zero, which is the exact kind of show of solidarity the candidates should show on a day like today. As for the rest of this evening's activities, I think today should be a day for honoring fallen heroes and victims, not a day for more partisan politics.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Family Values
In her two years as governor of Alaska, and especially in the four months since her son was born with Down syndrome, Sarah Palin has been portrayed as the very model of a working mother: She answers her BlackBerry while pumping breast milk for her infant; keeps a playpen by her desk; and manages a state while cooking caribou hot dogs for her family. But some people, looking at that tableau, wonder whether it is possible to perform that juggling act on the highest wire of all, a heartbeat away from the presidency. Those questions came into higher relief on Monday as Gov. Palin, just days after she was introduced as the Republican vice-presidential pick, disclosed that her 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is about five months pregnant. She said Bristol plans to keep the baby and marry the father.
WSJ Article
Let me start off by saying that I think Sen. McCain made a mistake choosing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. By trying to find a woman to appeal to Hilary supporters, McCain chose a candidate with too many holes in her public face. Her youth and inexperience will work against those same arguments McCain's campaign has made against Sen. Obama. The current investigation into Palin's alleged abuse of power, by trying to have her state trooper ex-brother in law fired, works against her credibility. Now, the fact that her 17 year old daughter is pregnant and may possibly marry the 18 year old father is being used to damage her belief family values. Regardless of how good of a person she may be, there are just too many problems for the McCain campaign to have picked her at this juncture.
Having said that, let me come out and say that I am appalled at the way the situation with her daughter is being handled, by both the media and the Democrats. For those families that are not in the public eye, such an event would be kept as quiet as possible, until the family was forced to acknowledge the pregnancy amongst their community. For a politician, especially one running for Vice President of the United States, every family matter becomes a matter of public record. The McCain campaign did not release the news until after they announced Palin as the VP candidate. However, to think that the campaign was unaware of the pregnancy is both naive and foolish. Any campaign consultant worth anything would know that it would be impossible to hide something of this nature. As such, McCain went ahead and chose Palin. That means he either believes in her ability to carry out her duties as VP, or that he believes her appeal to women will outweigh all the points against her, depending on how cynical you are.
Democrats are using Bristol's condition to try and paint Palin as a hypocrite who claims to support family values, but did not bother to instill such values in her daughter. This offends me on a deep level. Palin's attackers claim that because her daughter made a mistake, that she is a failure as a daughter, and Palin is a failure as a mother. I find this view repugnant. Bristol made a mistake. There is no way around that. She is young, still considered a minor in the eye of the law, and she engaged in sexual acts outside the bond of marriage, producing an unwanted pregnancy. However, not all mistakes end badly.
My older bother has a daughter, despite the fact that he has never been married. Granted, he was 23 when she was born, legally an adult, but age is only one factor in this debate. Despite the circumstance surround the birth of my niece, she has been nothing but a blessing to my family. My mother did not take the news well when my brother confessed that he had fathered a child. I am sure part of her felt that she failed in her parental duties. My parents raised their children in the church, working to instill Christian values in all of us. Obviously, my bother made some mistakes on his way to becoming a man. However, he is now raising the child, with the help of my parents and my sister. He works a job he does not particularly enjoy, so he can provide for his little girl, and still have time to spend with her each day when she gets home from school. This is evidence that those vary same values my mother worked to instill in our lives is very present in my brother. He owned up to his mistake, and is now working to raise a child as a single parent, hoping to instill those same Christian values in his daughter that our mother instilled in us.
My mother worked hard to raise her children right, teaching us to be God-fearing, upright American citizens. In the end, all a parent can do is teach their children how to live, and hope those lessons guide them through life. It was my brother's choices that led to my niece being born, not my mother's. Now, as the cycle continues, my bother is trying to teach his daughter how to live, knowing she will grow up to make her own choices along the way. Does this mean my mother or my brother do not support traditional family values? No, it means they believe in those values, which include the value of forgiveness. Human beings are not perfect. We are prone to make mistakes. But part of the blessed gift we receive from On High is the gift of forgiveness, for those who earnestly seek it. I am sure Bristol has asked for such forgiveness, and for her part, I am sure Gov. Palin has granted it.
So, before Obama supporters and the media offer up the Palin family for public sacrifice, maybe they should rethink their own values, and what it means to be human. That is just my opinion.
WSJ Article
Let me start off by saying that I think Sen. McCain made a mistake choosing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. By trying to find a woman to appeal to Hilary supporters, McCain chose a candidate with too many holes in her public face. Her youth and inexperience will work against those same arguments McCain's campaign has made against Sen. Obama. The current investigation into Palin's alleged abuse of power, by trying to have her state trooper ex-brother in law fired, works against her credibility. Now, the fact that her 17 year old daughter is pregnant and may possibly marry the 18 year old father is being used to damage her belief family values. Regardless of how good of a person she may be, there are just too many problems for the McCain campaign to have picked her at this juncture.
Having said that, let me come out and say that I am appalled at the way the situation with her daughter is being handled, by both the media and the Democrats. For those families that are not in the public eye, such an event would be kept as quiet as possible, until the family was forced to acknowledge the pregnancy amongst their community. For a politician, especially one running for Vice President of the United States, every family matter becomes a matter of public record. The McCain campaign did not release the news until after they announced Palin as the VP candidate. However, to think that the campaign was unaware of the pregnancy is both naive and foolish. Any campaign consultant worth anything would know that it would be impossible to hide something of this nature. As such, McCain went ahead and chose Palin. That means he either believes in her ability to carry out her duties as VP, or that he believes her appeal to women will outweigh all the points against her, depending on how cynical you are.
Democrats are using Bristol's condition to try and paint Palin as a hypocrite who claims to support family values, but did not bother to instill such values in her daughter. This offends me on a deep level. Palin's attackers claim that because her daughter made a mistake, that she is a failure as a daughter, and Palin is a failure as a mother. I find this view repugnant. Bristol made a mistake. There is no way around that. She is young, still considered a minor in the eye of the law, and she engaged in sexual acts outside the bond of marriage, producing an unwanted pregnancy. However, not all mistakes end badly.
My older bother has a daughter, despite the fact that he has never been married. Granted, he was 23 when she was born, legally an adult, but age is only one factor in this debate. Despite the circumstance surround the birth of my niece, she has been nothing but a blessing to my family. My mother did not take the news well when my brother confessed that he had fathered a child. I am sure part of her felt that she failed in her parental duties. My parents raised their children in the church, working to instill Christian values in all of us. Obviously, my bother made some mistakes on his way to becoming a man. However, he is now raising the child, with the help of my parents and my sister. He works a job he does not particularly enjoy, so he can provide for his little girl, and still have time to spend with her each day when she gets home from school. This is evidence that those vary same values my mother worked to instill in our lives is very present in my brother. He owned up to his mistake, and is now working to raise a child as a single parent, hoping to instill those same Christian values in his daughter that our mother instilled in us.
My mother worked hard to raise her children right, teaching us to be God-fearing, upright American citizens. In the end, all a parent can do is teach their children how to live, and hope those lessons guide them through life. It was my brother's choices that led to my niece being born, not my mother's. Now, as the cycle continues, my bother is trying to teach his daughter how to live, knowing she will grow up to make her own choices along the way. Does this mean my mother or my brother do not support traditional family values? No, it means they believe in those values, which include the value of forgiveness. Human beings are not perfect. We are prone to make mistakes. But part of the blessed gift we receive from On High is the gift of forgiveness, for those who earnestly seek it. I am sure Bristol has asked for such forgiveness, and for her part, I am sure Gov. Palin has granted it.
So, before Obama supporters and the media offer up the Palin family for public sacrifice, maybe they should rethink their own values, and what it means to be human. That is just my opinion.