Sarah Palin

As is everyone in the United States, and the World, I’m stunned at McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate.  To this end, I am tabulating a list of facts that are pertinent to the election as well as some questions that I want to answer as we learn more about her background.

Questions

• Has she ever traveled outside of North America, and does she have a current passport?
  Answer:  Yes, she received a passport in July, 2007 before she visited members of the Alaska National Guard in Kuwait.  She also traveled to Germany on the same trip.
• Creationism – does she also believe students should debate issues surrounding Mathematics, Geography, etc? 
• Book burning – does she believe government (local, state, or federal) has the right to restrict any book, for any reason, from public libraries?
• Medical – both Sarah Palin and John McCain should release their medical records for public review.  This would address legitimate questions about McCain’s general health (POW, ex-smoker, survivor of multiple cancers) as well as resolve unanswered questions about Palin’s last pregnancy.
• Does she believe that pi is a transcendental number, or does she round it up to 3?
• Does Sarah Palin believe Earth is 6000 years old?  If so, it John McCain older than Earth (this would make him older than dirt)?

Facts

• Sarah Palin was governor of Alaska for 20 months.
• In 2006, the state of Alaska had a population of 670,053
• In the rest of the country, we call a population of 670K a city, not a state.  I live 15 miles from Philadelphia, and neighbors commute to NYC, and Washington, DC.  
• Sarah Palin was on the city council and mayor of Wasilla, AK.  At this time Obama was an IL state senator, not a community organizer (as stated in her speech on 9/3/2008).  The Republicans appear to just make up things and turn them into ‘facts’.  A full timeline of Obama and Palin’s professional live is below.
• In 2004, the city of Wasilla, AK had a population of under 6000
• In 2005, the enrollment in our regional high school was 7500
• Our local high school had a larger budget and more construction projects than Wasilla, AK.
• Sarah Palin is not related to Michael Palin.
• She promotes teaching creationism in public schools.
• She has a BA in Journalism from the University of Idaho.
• The University of Idaho is considered a third tier college.
• All public Universities in NJ are ranked tier 1.   The only other tier 3/4 school I know is Regent University, where the Bush DoJ staff received law degrees.

Palin-Obama timeline – from

1980 - 1984
Obama: B.A. in political science with a specialization in international relations from Columbia University.

Palin: Wasilla High School, captain of the state-champion basketball team. Miss Wasilla, runner-up in the Miss Alaska pageant.
Him: Ivy League degree. Her: tiara.

1985 - 1990
Obama: moved to Chicago; became a community organizer as director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a church-based community organization on Chicago's far South Side. During his three years as the DCP's director, its staff grew from 1 to 13 and its annual budget grew from $70,000 to $400,000, with accomplishments including helping set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization.

Moved to Boston to attend Harvard Law School. Selected as an editor and then elected president of the Harvard Law Review, a full-time volunteer position functioning as editor-in-chief and supervising the law review's staff of 80 editors.

Palin: Bachelor of Science degree in communications-journalism, with a minor in political science from the University of Idaho. Brief stint as a  sports reporter for local Anchorage television stations; left to join her husband in commercial fishing.
Him: sterling legal education. Her: sportscaster.

1991 - 1995
Obama: graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School; received contract and advance to write a book ("Dreams from my Father") as well as  a fellowship at the University of Chicago Law School. Directed the Illinois Project Vote from April to October 1992, a voter registration drive with a staff of 10 and 700 volunteers that achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered African Americans in the state, leading Crain's Chicago Business to name Obama to its 1993 list of "40 under Forty" powers to be. Appointed as a Lecturer in constitutional law at the University of Chicago. Joined Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, a 12-attorney law firm specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development. Active in several community organizations, usually as a board member.

Palin: member of the Alaska Independence Party which advocates "Alaska First". Elected to Wasilla city council.

Him: Expert on our nation's fundamental legal principles. Her: plotted to leave the Union; thinks Pledge of Allegiance was written by our founding fathers.

1996 - 2000
Obama: promoted to Senior Lecturer in constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School.  Elected to the Illinois Senate. Sponsored more than 800 bills. In 2000, lost a Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives to four-term incumbent Bobby Rush by a margin of two to one.

Palin: elected as mayor of Wasilla (population 5,470), defeating the incumbent by a total of 616 votes to 413. Town budget, $8 million (3 millionths of the Federal budget), approximately 100 employees. Reduced property taxes but increased sales taxes. Fired the Wasilla police chief, citing a failure to support her administration. (He then sued Palin on the grounds that he was fired because he supported the campaign of Palin's opponent, but his suit was dismissed when the judge ruled that Palin had the right under state law to fire city employees, even for political reasons.) Hired a DC lobbyist to bring $8 million in earmarks to the city.
Him: sponsored 800 bills. Her: swayed 616 voters.

2001 - 2004
Obama: reelected in 2002 and became chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee. 

Publicly spoke out against the invasion of Iraq BEFORE the congressional authorization in 2002, and then again before the actual invasion in 2003.

Wrote and delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

November 2004: elected to the US Senate, receiving over 3.5 million votes, more than 70% of total.

Palin: elected president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors.  Unsuccessful bid for lieutenant governor, coming in second in a five-way race in the Republican primary, receiving 19,000 votes. Appointed to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, served as chairman from 2003 to 2004 and also served as Ethics Supervisor. Resigned in protest over the "lack of ethics" of fellow Republican members. Exposed the state Republican Party's chairman, Randy Ruedrich, for doing party work on public time and working closely with a company he was supposed to be regulating. Director of Ted Stevens' 527 group.
Him: demonstrated the wisdom to oppose the Iraq folly before it even began. Her: hasn't really though much about it - despite the fact that 17 Alaskans have died there

2005 to present
Obama: Sworn in as the fifth-ever African-American U.S. senator. Worked with Republican Senator Lugar to author and implement a program to locate and dismantle stray Russian WMD's. Designated by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as the party's point man on ethics. Worked with Russ Feingold to pass a major ethics/lobbying reform bill. Cosponsored, with John McCain, the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act. Called for increased fuel efficiency standards (3 percent every year for 15 years).  Assignments on the Senate Committees for Foreign Relations, Veterans' Affairs, and Homeland Security. Chairman of the Senate's subcommittee on European Affairs. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. Waged a tremendous battle to become the Democratic presidential nominee. Currently manages 2,500 campaign employees and a budget of $40-$50 million/month.

Palin: 2005: board member, Valley Hospital Association, which runs the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center in Wasilla.

Became youngest and first female Governor of Alaska, taking office in December, 2006. Auctioned off the Governor's jet on eBay. Took on fellow-Republican Senator Ted Stevens to come clean about the federal investigation into his financial dealings. Promoted oil and natural gas resource development in Alaska. Helped pass a tax increase on oil company profits. Formed a sub-cabinet group of advisers to address climate change but does not accept that it is man-made.  Objected to listing polar bears as an endangered species because it might hurt oil and gas development in the bears' habitat. Was for the bridge to nowhere before she was against it. However, Alaska kept the federal money. Denied her daughter was pregnant before she confirmed it. Supported abstinence-only education.Currently under a bipartisan investigation for abuse of power for dismissing Alaska's Public Safety Commissioner. Commander-in-Chief of the Alaska National Guard, but has played no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard. (The entire operation is under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations.)

Obtained her first passport in 2007 to perform visits to the Alaska National Guard in Kuwait and Germany. (Foreign experience so limited that a stopover in Ireland listed on her resume.)

Technorati Tags: Palin,politics,science,election

Melinda Gates goes public - Jan. 7, 2008

Melinda Gates goes public - Jan. 7, 2008

This is a very good article about Melinda Gates. It paints a pretty even picture of how they have setup and run the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. I did work for a non-profit they helped fund in the late 1990's and I was impressed with how focused they were and how effective the projects are.

In the past, the US government initiated projects to eliminate polio and some childhood diseases. These projects were highly successful. However, in the current climate, our government sees fit to spend countless dollars the war in Iraq.



It disturbs me that it makes so much sense for someone like Bill and Melinda Gates to step into the gap, identify projects like malaria prevention, and bring appropriate resources to bear. I hope they are successful, and I think they are headed in the right direction

Ken Miller Evolution Lecture at Case Western

Dr. Miller is a professor at Brown University, and his position on evolution is very similar to mine - belief in God and evolution are not mutually exclusive.

Ken Miller's lecture on Intelligent Design at Case Western University. Ken Miller rips Intelligent Design apart in a 2 hour long exposé of the claims of intelligent design and the tactics that creationists employ to get it shoehorned into the American school system.

Dr. Miller is an excellent speaker and I think the YouTube video methodically addresses each issue brought up by the Intelligent Design (creationism) proponents and puts them to rest.  In particular, I was not aware of the fused chromosome discovery which addresses the chromosome count difference between homo sapiens and primates.

From a personal standpoint, I also liked the fact that he discusses Michael Behe, a professor at Lehigh University, and one of the biggest proponents of Intelligent Design.  During the Dover, PA ID trial, which Dr. Miller attended, Behe, under oath, stated that astrology and other pseudo-scientific beliefs should be included in science curriculums. 

I think Lehigh University is a good school, however, the fact that they continue to allow Behe to teach is a disservice to students and the rest of the Lehigh faculty.  After learning that Behe was a member of the Lehigh faculty, I would not allow my daughter to consider Lehigh.  I do not recommend any student of science or technology consider Lehigh until they banish him from the school.

Technorati Tags: evolution,science,religion,creationism

Macs are more expensive

I frequently have this discussion with "Mac People".  I don't argue that Apple has a great design group, but I don't believe they offer the value for money I receive from other vendors.

Dave Winer is a pretty savvy guy, and a big Apple fan, so I was pretty surprised when I read his article detailing his Mac Book repair.  It's just my nature, but I would probably have my hands around the throat of the Mac support person.  At a minimum, I want a new drive in my system and some assurance, in writing, that data on my original drive will be scrubbed, or the drive destroyed.

The other factor that keeps me away from Mac stores is the "Genius Bar".  Let's face it, these guy (and women possibly) aren't geniuses and calling a 20-something college student (or recent grad) working in retail a genius just sets unreasonable expectations from a customer and dilutes the term 'genius'.  None of these folks have an IQ higher than mine and they don't think out of the box because Apple doesn't want someone like that working in retail in the first place.

The last time I was in an Apple store the little freakazoid manager (Marlton, NJ for anyone interested) asked me to stop taking pictures.  Bugger off, Apple Boy!  I have shoes older than you.

Technorati Tags: Apple,Mac,fanboy,hardware

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