Why won't Sarah Palin go away?

I do think it was disgusting of David Letterman to make a joke about A-Rod and one of the Palin girls but as this NPR commentator says, "Don't pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel!"

Goodbye and good riddance

Katha Pollitt says goodbye to Sarah Palin! I like the part about "the kids named after bays and sports and trees and airplanes and who did not seem to go to school at all." How is Bristol going to be able to home school that baby if she can't even finish high school?

Dummies are everywhere!

Click on Sarah Palin's desk!

Say it ain't so, Sarah

Steven Pinker, writing for The New York Times tells me:

And no, “nucular” is not a sign of ignorance. This reversal of vowel-like consonants (nuk-l’-yer —> nuk-y’-ler) is common in the world’s languages, and is no more illiterate than pronouncing “iron” the way most Americans do, as “eye-yern” instead of “eye-ren.”

Lingo!

Feeling left out of the political process? Not quite sure how to field-dress a moose? Plenty of hope but far too little cash left in your 401k?

Sure, McCain, Obama, Biden and Palin all feel your pain -- and now you can play along!

Simply download and print these LINGO cards -- then watch the televised presidential debates. When a candidate utters the buzzword, cross it out. First player to get five across, up and down or diagonally wins (same rules as Bingo).

Deep appreciation to Bob Staake and his site.

Sarah and Diana

The LA Times has an interesting article about similarities between Sarah Palin and Princess Diana. And Ellen Goodman, brilliant as always, discusses the Republicans' flip flop on working mothers.

Yesterday, Jeffrey Sachs was the keynote speaker at a lunch I attended, and was very eloquent and impressive about the disaster McCain-Palin would be for the country. It was hard to believe anyone could listen and be unaffected but the associate sitting next to me got up and left the room. It was true we'd been at this event for HOURS but still. How often does one get to hear a brilliant speaker trying to improve our world?

Election coverage

NPR has had the most entertaining stories about the media coverage of Sarah Palin, and how the best way for the Republicans to garner support is to bash the media.

Judith Warner has a good piece in today's NYT. And the rock group, Heart, tells the GOP not to play their old hit Barracuda for Sarah Palin:

"Here's a statement by Ann and Nancy Wilson:
'Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image. The song 'Barracuda' was written in the late 70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The 'barracuda' represented the business.) While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there's irony in Republican strategists' choice to make use of it there.'"

Other musicians have expressed similar views.