Saturday, September 06, 2008
Motherhood as a Source of the Political
Over at Slate, there is a very good article that discusses the transformation of Motherhood under Evangelicalism, especially from the Murphy Brown era to the Sarah Palin days. While once it was inappropriate for a woman in power to become a single mother, right Dan Quayle, it is now authentic for a woman in power to have a pregnant daughter before the daughter is married. The reason for this change is that Motherhood is an important source of Evangelical politics:
The article reads as a form of synthesis of ideas: a traditional lifestyle in the realm of politics means that the "elites" do not need to lead by example because they advance the cause of political Evangelicalism. However, even as the "elites" in politics lead to greater visibility for the movement, the loss of authenticity with "Evangelicalism" creates room for "slippage" in the masses as they see that they do not need to follow the rules the elite expound. The article suggests that this contradiction between elites/masses helps to explain why the divorce rate is on the rise with Evangelicals.
If the later is true, splinter groups from the movement may weaken Evangelical power, opening up the door for another political reform in the Martin Luther sense. For better or for worse, the new-age Puritans may form competing factions. However, as long as abortion remains legal and in tact as is, there will always a political devil for Evangelicals to fight against.
Starting in the 1970s, leaders such as Dobson began rewriting the rules of the traditional Christian marriage to make it more palatable in an age of feminism. Domestic work was elevated to a special calling; Christian women were told their child-rearing decisions had national implications, as they were raising a generation of righteous soldiers. Mom took on a political tinge. Home-schooling mothers dragged their large broods to volunteer in campaigns. Like with many Christian moms of her generation, Palin's résumé starts with the PTA.
Conservative women became a powerful tool for the party, and everyone was willing to overlook the cost to their personal lives. If a conservative Christian mother chose to pursue a full-time career in, say, landscape gardening or the law, she was abandoning her family. But if she chose public service, she was furthering the godly cause. No one discussed the sticky domestic details: Did she have a (gasp!) nanny? Did her husband really rule the roost anymore? Who said prayers with the kids every night? As long as she was seen now and again with her children, she could get away with any amount of power.
The article reads as a form of synthesis of ideas: a traditional lifestyle in the realm of politics means that the "elites" do not need to lead by example because they advance the cause of political Evangelicalism. However, even as the "elites" in politics lead to greater visibility for the movement, the loss of authenticity with "Evangelicalism" creates room for "slippage" in the masses as they see that they do not need to follow the rules the elite expound. The article suggests that this contradiction between elites/masses helps to explain why the divorce rate is on the rise with Evangelicals.
If the later is true, splinter groups from the movement may weaken Evangelical power, opening up the door for another political reform in the Martin Luther sense. For better or for worse, the new-age Puritans may form competing factions. However, as long as abortion remains legal and in tact as is, there will always a political devil for Evangelicals to fight against.
Comic Relief II
From the NY Times, (Hat tip Andrew Sullivan):
“The churches that Sarah has attended all believe in a literal translation of the Bible,” Ms. Kincaid said. “Her principal ethical and moral beliefs stem from this.Oh wait. Faith-based reality is not that funny. And this is the modern day GOP.
Prayer, and belief in its power, is another constant theme, Ms. Kincaid said, in what she has witnessed in Ms. Palin. “Her beliefs are firm in the power of prayer — let’s put it that way,” she said....
In the address at the Assembly of God Church here, Ms. Palin’s ease in talking about the intersection of faith and public life was clear. Among other things, she encouraged the group of young church leaders to pray that “God’s will” be done in bringing about the construction of a big pipeline in the state, and suggested her work as governor would be
hampered “if the people of Alaska’s heart isn’t right with God.”
She also told the group that her eldest child, Track, would soon be deployed by the Army to Iraq, and that they should pray “that our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God, that’s what we have to make sure we are praying for, that there is a plan, and that plan is God’s plan.”
Comic Relief
Count this in the category of Stuff Harrogate Likes. It never fails to amuse him. Perhaps because on this day he, too, feels pretty, and witty, and gay.
This moment also classically exemplifies what is meant when academicians speak of The Rhetorical Situation. Perhaps Readers would like to Break it Down in the Comments....
"Move your Ass, dipshit!"
This moment also classically exemplifies what is meant when academicians speak of The Rhetorical Situation. Perhaps Readers would like to Break it Down in the Comments....
"Move your Ass, dipshit!"
Friday, September 05, 2008
New Blogroll Addition: Balloon Juice
Harrogate announces the newest addition to Our Reading List. A blog he's been visiting for a few weeks now, very good stuff, pithy, gets lots of comments, hopefully ye will all consider visiting.
This was Contributor John Cole's reaction to the convention and to the ticket. He dubs McCain and Palin's post-convention campaign, "The Suspension of Reality Tour." Could it be said any better, except maybe by Board Members here?
A snippet. He quotes this from McCain's speech last night:
Then he joins Solon's call for people to please, please, please notice the grotesquely cynical contradiction of it all:
The blogosphere is on fire right now. Get your work done. But smoke more blog.
This was Contributor John Cole's reaction to the convention and to the ticket. He dubs McCain and Palin's post-convention campaign, "The Suspension of Reality Tour." Could it be said any better, except maybe by Board Members here?
A snippet. He quotes this from McCain's speech last night:
The—the constant partisan rancor that stops us from solving these problems isn’t a cause. It’s a symptom. It’s what happens when people go to Washington to work for themselves and not for you. Again and again—again and again, I’ve worked with members of both parties to fix problems that need to be fixed. That’s how I will govern as president. I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again.
Then he joins Solon's call for people to please, please, please notice the grotesquely cynical contradiction of it all:
Is he serious? Did he not watch his own convention? Did he miss the nasty, snide, and condescending presentations from Romney and Giuliani the night before? Did he pay no attention to Lyndsey Graham, just an hour earlier, claiming Obama’s entire campaign is based around a loss in Iraq? Did he miss the untested and unproven running mate of his, Sarah Palin, launch vicious and snide remarks about Obama? Has he not paid attention to the last 3 months of his own campaign? Does he forget repeatedly accusing Obama of choosing to lose awar to win an election?
The blogosphere is on fire right now. Get your work done. But smoke more blog.
Happy Birthday Google
Today, Google turned 10. This morning, while getting his car fixed, Harrogate watched some business show on cable news where pundits talked about how over that time Google stock and shares created multiple millionaires, and not a few billionaires either.
But setting aside the question of shares for a moment. It really is staggering when ye think about it, what a huge cultural force the Google search engine has become in such a short period of time. Doesn't it feel like it has always been with us, that we have always been able to run searches for song lyrics the second we need to know them? Or to find other things, on demand?
Thinking about Google's birthday today, Harrogate dwells a bit on human innovation, and how Harrogate himself often fails to admire the positive side of material ambition as well as the entrepreneurial spirit. Yay to information, even if you have to wade through streams of bilge sometimes, to get it.
But setting aside the question of shares for a moment. It really is staggering when ye think about it, what a huge cultural force the Google search engine has become in such a short period of time. Doesn't it feel like it has always been with us, that we have always been able to run searches for song lyrics the second we need to know them? Or to find other things, on demand?
Thinking about Google's birthday today, Harrogate dwells a bit on human innovation, and how Harrogate himself often fails to admire the positive side of material ambition as well as the entrepreneurial spirit. Yay to information, even if you have to wade through streams of bilge sometimes, to get it.
The Assy McGee Award®
Sorry Harrogate, this ups your post on Michelle "Internment for Everyone" Malkin.
In an online conversation between David Lat, a former federal prosecutor and Hillary supporter, and Marc Ambinder, a writer and blogger at Atlantic, Lat discusses his transition from Hillary to Palin because, "A Star is born;" "Behind those librarian glasses" she is "playing a role beautifully;" it is time to have a a female president or VP.
Who cares about issues because, with Palin, it is "like being in love -- reason flies out the window! You just have a visceral reaction to someone, and you're off to the races."
In an online conversation between David Lat, a former federal prosecutor and Hillary supporter, and Marc Ambinder, a writer and blogger at Atlantic, Lat discusses his transition from Hillary to Palin because, "A Star is born;" "Behind those librarian glasses" she is "playing a role beautifully;" it is time to have a a female president or VP.
Who cares about issues because, with Palin, it is "like being in love -- reason flies out the window! You just have a visceral reaction to someone, and you're off to the races."
For Southpaw, Especially: World of Warcraft Forum Bloggers Debate Palin Sex Scandal
As far as we have gathered from Andrew Sullivan's objective fact-hunting, "Todd Palin's former business partner, Scott Alan Richter, who is now divorced and was reportedly accused of an Affair with Sarah Palin," tried--and failed-- to get an emergency measure for his divorce papers to be sealed. See the Salon story here (hat tip to salon for the Palin image).
Well, if the effort to get the papers sealed has failed, then Harrogate guesses we'll know soon enough whether the Enquirer just nailed its second political hide to the wall in a month.
See the World of Warcraft bloggers doing journalistic work, here
Your GOP VP Nominee
Troopergate. It sounds like a bad 1990s or 2000s teen movie, like Starship Troopers or Super Bad.
But seriously. Say if you wanted to vet a candidate on the cheap. If you googled her name before you nominated her, you could find out this information. She certainly fits in with the modern day GOP- let's post the ten commandments everyone even if we do not know them, right Westmoreland?
But seriously. Say if you wanted to vet a candidate on the cheap. If you googled her name before you nominated her, you could find out this information. She certainly fits in with the modern day GOP- let's post the ten commandments everyone even if we do not know them, right Westmoreland?
The Importance of Not Letting Abortion Be a Sleeper Issue
Harrogate is going to write a lot about this issue in the coming weeks. He hopes Media with big audiences will do the same, but if they insist on continuing to shield Independents from thinking about the Abortion Issue, then little bloggers like us must do the work.
So here's something interesting. Yesterday Harrogate and Roof Almighty met a self-described "Right Wing Christian" who considers Abortion to be murder, and a very fruitful conversation about abortion followed. This person said something to Harrogate that very rarely makes it past the shouting or enforced silence, when the subject is broached.
In the most affluent society on the face of the Earth, he told Harrogate. It is offensive that so many women who get pregnant feel that they have no choice but to get an abortion. That it is offensive that in America 2008, world-class health care is not available to such women not only during pregnancy, but in the years before and in the years that follow; that financial assistance is not always and immediately accessible to those who need it.
If the country was really interested in lessening abortions, he argued, it would put its money where its mouth is.
He followed up this argument by insisting that the thing he hated most about his own Republican Party, on the issue of Abortion, was its implicit and explicit opposition to contraceptives (Witness Sarah Palin). One does not have to give up on Appealing to Abstinence as a Value, simply by acknowledging that Abstinence Education doesn't cast a wide enough net.
This man candily told Harrogate he doesn't yet know who he will vote for, but he is pretty pissed at the Palin selection, and he is tired of his demographic being used by the Wall Street Republicans (his words).
Everything he said was great, and how shameful that the points he raised almost never make it into the Big Media discourse. Because the Abortion Issue is controlling our politics to an extent that we are unwilling to admit. We all know that not every abortion comes down to economics or to a lack of sex education, but isn't it reasonable to say that many abortions are tethered to these problems, and isn't that something we can all agree is sad?
Well, say what you want about him, and Lord knows Harrogate has said his share (and will continue to do so), Obama knows it is sad. Obama made the same damned argument on his Thursday night acceptance speech before some 38 million viewers, even though McCain (did you know he was a POW) snuffed it all out with the Palin pick. And that is why when you look at the options presented to you, Harrogate argues that if you care about lessening abortion rates, Obama is the right choice for President.
So here's something interesting. Yesterday Harrogate and Roof Almighty met a self-described "Right Wing Christian" who considers Abortion to be murder, and a very fruitful conversation about abortion followed. This person said something to Harrogate that very rarely makes it past the shouting or enforced silence, when the subject is broached.
In the most affluent society on the face of the Earth, he told Harrogate. It is offensive that so many women who get pregnant feel that they have no choice but to get an abortion. That it is offensive that in America 2008, world-class health care is not available to such women not only during pregnancy, but in the years before and in the years that follow; that financial assistance is not always and immediately accessible to those who need it.
If the country was really interested in lessening abortions, he argued, it would put its money where its mouth is.
He followed up this argument by insisting that the thing he hated most about his own Republican Party, on the issue of Abortion, was its implicit and explicit opposition to contraceptives (Witness Sarah Palin). One does not have to give up on Appealing to Abstinence as a Value, simply by acknowledging that Abstinence Education doesn't cast a wide enough net.
This man candily told Harrogate he doesn't yet know who he will vote for, but he is pretty pissed at the Palin selection, and he is tired of his demographic being used by the Wall Street Republicans (his words).
Everything he said was great, and how shameful that the points he raised almost never make it into the Big Media discourse. Because the Abortion Issue is controlling our politics to an extent that we are unwilling to admit. We all know that not every abortion comes down to economics or to a lack of sex education, but isn't it reasonable to say that many abortions are tethered to these problems, and isn't that something we can all agree is sad?
Well, say what you want about him, and Lord knows Harrogate has said his share (and will continue to do so), Obama knows it is sad. Obama made the same damned argument on his Thursday night acceptance speech before some 38 million viewers, even though McCain (did you know he was a POW) snuffed it all out with the Palin pick. And that is why when you look at the options presented to you, Harrogate argues that if you care about lessening abortion rates, Obama is the right choice for President.
"let me explain to them what the job involves": Making War and Banning Books
John McCain closed out his speech last night with rousing, Henry V-style calls for America to "Stand up" and to "Fight," words he used over and over again. The convention-goers went nuts. After all the ballons were dropped, at the top of the ticket what we were left with was, Fight, Fight, Fight; Did you know John McCain was a POW? He wasn't scared to fight! Now its our turn to Fight! Always Fight!
Speaking of fighting, in presenting us with Sarah Palin, a red-meat throwing politico who makes George W. Bush seem intellectually curious, John McCain started a big ole fight against our republican institutions as well.
Wednesday night both Rudy (noun, verb, 9/11) Giuliani and Palin made much of her mayoral record as part of her "executive experience." And then Palin, playing the victim, offered to "explain to them what the job" of Mayor involves. But she said nothing about her time as Mayor, opting instead for trashy, snarling, sarcastic derogations of Obama.
But, Harrogate will help Palin out. Her on-record urge to ban books as Mayor will nicely complement McCain's urge to stoke nationalistic fervor and start wars. What a team the McCain Administration promises to be, if we are ignorant enough as a people, to let them in the door.
Palin the book banner link. It also shows how she made abortion a central issue in a small-town MAYORAL race.
This bitch is a nutjob, people. The GOP's kind of nutjob.
But anyway, here's the book-banning blurb. Too bad this isn't a huge story already:
A good time to summon up some of this feeling right here, the opening seconds of this clip from the third greatest sports movie ever made:
"Ray, I just halted the spread of neo-fascism in America."
Speaking of fighting, in presenting us with Sarah Palin, a red-meat throwing politico who makes George W. Bush seem intellectually curious, John McCain started a big ole fight against our republican institutions as well.
Wednesday night both Rudy (noun, verb, 9/11) Giuliani and Palin made much of her mayoral record as part of her "executive experience." And then Palin, playing the victim, offered to "explain to them what the job" of Mayor involves. But she said nothing about her time as Mayor, opting instead for trashy, snarling, sarcastic derogations of Obama.
But, Harrogate will help Palin out. Her on-record urge to ban books as Mayor will nicely complement McCain's urge to stoke nationalistic fervor and start wars. What a team the McCain Administration promises to be, if we are ignorant enough as a people, to let them in the door.
Palin the book banner link. It also shows how she made abortion a central issue in a small-town MAYORAL race.
This bitch is a nutjob, people. The GOP's kind of nutjob.
But anyway, here's the book-banning blurb. Too bad this isn't a huge story already:
as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. "She asked the library how she could go about banning books," he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them.
A good time to summon up some of this feeling right here, the opening seconds of this clip from the third greatest sports movie ever made:
"Ray, I just halted the spread of neo-fascism in America."
Gloria Steinem: "Wrong woman, wrong message"
In an LA Times editorial, Gloria Steinem succinctly explains why Sarah Palin is the wrong person for the job.
Selecting Sarah Palin, who was touted all summer by Rush Limbaugh, is no way to attract most women, including die-hard Clinton supporters. Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Clinton. Her down-home, divisive and deceptive speech did nothing to cosmeticize a Republican convention that has more than twice as many male delegates as female, a presidential candidate who is owned and operated by the right wing and a platform that opposes pretty much everything Clinton's candidacy stood for -- and that Barack Obama's still does. To vote in protest for McCain/Palin would be like saying, "Somebody stole my shoes, so I'll amputate my legs."
Personally, I don't get the whole "I'm gonna vote for someone else to protest the fact that my candidate got nominated" argument. Frankly, I don't even get the whole "I'm not gonna vote at all because there are no candidates I'm interested in" argument. Both seem like a cop-out on the part of the voter. Voting for McCain (and let's be real here; few people vote for a VP candidate--although Palin is being touted as a real reason to vote for McCain for some odd reason) to protest that Clinton didn't get the nomination is not stupid; it is asinine. And, as I think Harrogate would argue, is tantamount to agreeing to kill more people in the Middle East and God knows where else many Republicans would like to start wars in the name of protecting our freedoms.
What Steinem does so eloquently is remind us that we're not electing Palin. McCain is the one who needs to be held responsible for this poor choice, for treating the American public--and American women in particular--like we're stupid, and for putting our country at risk. As she points out, if he wanted to put a woman on the ticket, he had lots of other options--elected officials with real experience, who wouldn't make the rest of us cringe, and, despite their status as Republicans, actually work for the cause of gender equality. Instead he chose a woman who mirrors every single one of his policies.
If identity politics is all that matters to us, then I suggest we look past what the candidates look like and listen to how the present themselves and what they say. Both Barack Obama and Joe Biden argue that women can't be equal outside the home until men do an equal amount of work inside it. That seems like a message most women would want to pay attention to.
Selecting Sarah Palin, who was touted all summer by Rush Limbaugh, is no way to attract most women, including die-hard Clinton supporters. Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Clinton. Her down-home, divisive and deceptive speech did nothing to cosmeticize a Republican convention that has more than twice as many male delegates as female, a presidential candidate who is owned and operated by the right wing and a platform that opposes pretty much everything Clinton's candidacy stood for -- and that Barack Obama's still does. To vote in protest for McCain/Palin would be like saying, "Somebody stole my shoes, so I'll amputate my legs."
Personally, I don't get the whole "I'm gonna vote for someone else to protest the fact that my candidate got nominated" argument. Frankly, I don't even get the whole "I'm not gonna vote at all because there are no candidates I'm interested in" argument. Both seem like a cop-out on the part of the voter. Voting for McCain (and let's be real here; few people vote for a VP candidate--although Palin is being touted as a real reason to vote for McCain for some odd reason) to protest that Clinton didn't get the nomination is not stupid; it is asinine. And, as I think Harrogate would argue, is tantamount to agreeing to kill more people in the Middle East and God knows where else many Republicans would like to start wars in the name of protecting our freedoms.
What Steinem does so eloquently is remind us that we're not electing Palin. McCain is the one who needs to be held responsible for this poor choice, for treating the American public--and American women in particular--like we're stupid, and for putting our country at risk. As she points out, if he wanted to put a woman on the ticket, he had lots of other options--elected officials with real experience, who wouldn't make the rest of us cringe, and, despite their status as Republicans, actually work for the cause of gender equality. Instead he chose a woman who mirrors every single one of his policies.
If identity politics is all that matters to us, then I suggest we look past what the candidates look like and listen to how the present themselves and what they say. Both Barack Obama and Joe Biden argue that women can't be equal outside the home until men do an equal amount of work inside it. That seems like a message most women would want to pay attention to.
Contradiction of the Past Two Days
On Wednesday, Sarah Palin delivers a partisan address to rev up the base. Last night, McCain attacked partisanship, saying that occurred because of self-interest.
Do they think that the American people are so stupid that they cannot remember receiving conflicting messages within a 24 time frame? Do they think the American people are so stupid that they do not realize that Palin has always been partisan?
It is as if they wrote McCain's speech for the selection of Joe Lieberman as his VP and never bothered to change it. Damn facts!!!
I remember teaching debate one year and a student attempted to persuade the class to vote for a particular candidate. The problem of course is that the election occurred the day before her speech and her candidate lost, badly. Technically, it was a good speech. However, it possessed no relationship to reality.
The modern day GOP is that student.
Do they think that the American people are so stupid that they cannot remember receiving conflicting messages within a 24 time frame? Do they think the American people are so stupid that they do not realize that Palin has always been partisan?
It is as if they wrote McCain's speech for the selection of Joe Lieberman as his VP and never bothered to change it. Damn facts!!!
I remember teaching debate one year and a student attempted to persuade the class to vote for a particular candidate. The problem of course is that the election occurred the day before her speech and her candidate lost, badly. Technically, it was a good speech. However, it possessed no relationship to reality.
The modern day GOP is that student.
Michelle Malkin Explains: They Weren't Denigrating Community Organization, Just Obama
Thanks for clarifying things, Michelle. And while you're certainly worthy of consderation for today's Assy McGee Award®, we must be patient--'tis early, yet.
Blech.
Blech.
Because After All, John McCain Was a POW
Normally Harrogate only posts the one song by this band, the same song, every year. But tonight demands a second one by them, for 2008. It is so fitting it hurts.
"Captive Honour" indeed.
"Captive Honour" indeed.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
More TalkLeft Sycophanting, And More Solon Kindredness
Harrogate can't help it. He's just so damned happy to see Jeralyn and TChris swinging for the fences and in peak form. Their synopses are of course not as good as Solon's, but they're pretty awesome nonetheless.
Gems from TChris:
Jeralyn is still the Champ, though
Some samples from her Live Blog of the McCain Orgy:
And look at this sequence. This is the kind of stuff that explains why we smoke blog in the first place:
Clap clap. Keep swinging away. Everybody everywhere, keep swinging away.
Gems from TChris:
I respect Sen. Obama. We're both Americans. But only one of us was a POW.
I know it's tough to be unemployed. If we didn't have a government, you'd all still have jobs. Sarah Palin will help me do away with government.
Jeralyn is still the Champ, though
Some samples from her Live Blog of the McCain Orgy:
Update: The video. Did you know John McCain was a POW?
Update: No podium. He waves to the crowd. Sure looked like he raised his arm above his chest to me.
And look at this sequence. This is the kind of stuff that explains why we smoke blog in the first place:
Throws Obama a respect bone. What's going on. Did a protester just get in? "Please Don't be diverted by the ground noise and the static? Did they plan that or did he ad lib that?
He mentions Palin and she gets more applause than him. You can't even hear him over the applause. That shows you how desperate the evangelical radical right is to get their hands on the White House.
Update: 10:33 pm. This is one of the worst speeches ever. It's boring and not saying anything.
( Note to readers: Don't forget to leave song suggestions in the comments.)
Clap clap. Keep swinging away. Everybody everywhere, keep swinging away.
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