Political Hippo Circle Jerk - America, farg YEAH!

[ATV]

George Carlin on religion...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeSSwKffj9o

[ATV]

Sarah Palin Is Not a Hockey Mom

She's a hockey player. She's a fourth-line hockey agitator, beloved by the home crowd, loathed by the opponents, injecting passion into both fan bases, the kind of home-team hero that no Stanley Cup winner goes without.

Once upon a time, I applied an NFL-replay mentality to hockey playoffs, holding on to outrages over missed calls, blatantly unfair officiating, double standards, and outright getting-away-with-stuff (which always led to an early spring exit for my beloved Blues). I wanted – and unreasonably expected – bad behavior to be proportionally punished.

And then several years ago I had an epiphany about the hockey playoffs – nobody is coming to save you. Initiators win, reactors lose. Expect adversity, because it's built in. The fourth-line, no-scoring-talent, pest agitators (or as we now call them, "energy guys") have a specific job. Skate in, take a cheap shot, make it after the whistle. Make it against the rules. Stir something up. Put a wet glove in the other guy's face and rub it. Get the outrage flowing. Get the opponent not thinking about the game, get them thinking about your shenanigans. And what happens? The "victimized" team loses its composure, hitting back. The guy who hits second is always the guy who goes to the penalty box.

Watching Sarah Palin this week, and the reaction to her by both sides, and all the talk of hockey mommery, I realized that this is who she is. She skates into the corner, throws up an elbow, and the Democrats cry: "Foul!" Hey! She said Obama has never passed a major bill – this is an objective lie! Hey! She ridiculed community organizing the day after Service was the theme! Technically people should punish her by not voting for her over this infraction!

It's whining, and whiners hit back second and go to the penalty box on top of it.

Sarah Palin is a person who by her own admission found out about the Iraq surge – the centerpiece of the McCain judgment argument – from television. Apologies to conservatives, but technically, objectively, inarguably, this alone makes her unqualified to be President. But we don't live in that technical or objective world. Political campaigns – as distinct from policy and governance – are the NHL playoffs. It's only about who survives the war of attrition to the finish line first. Is Brett Hull's skate still in Dominik Hasek's crease and was that same situation disallowed in every previous instance throughout that season? Yes, but so what? Dallas had a parade.

In the hockey analogy, Palin wouldn't get within a thousand miles of an NHL All-Star Game because she's not a scoring talent. She's a role player, an emotion-rouser. Emotion messes with the chalkboard-drawn game plan and thus achieves a specific strategic objective. She can make game-changing agitation plays that rouse her home team and provoke the other side into counterattacks that – 100% of the time – end up punishing the team who hits back. Democrats would be smart to understand her as such, and I see a lot of reaction that doesn't seem to grasp what Palin is doing and the value she's providing. I see a lot of Democrats taking a lot of bait.

This applies more to Democratic surrogates than it does to the top-ticket duo. Joe Biden had the smart response yesterday – naming the behavior – expecting it, and then riding through without taking the bait:

"It was about how well placed -- and boy she is good -- how a left jab can be stuck pretty nice. It's about how Barack Obama is such a bad guy."
And that's all he says of Palin's antics. Name the behavior, even praising the skill with which the agitation was attempted, and then back to focus. It's "the economy, stupid."

Finally – is the analogy complete? In the end a great hockey agitator who rouses both sides emotionally (and successfully gets the other team to lose focus) still needs the home team scoring talent to come through. Successful agitator Kris Draper of the Detroit Red Wings had the clutch Steve Yzerman for a lot of years. That worked. Detroit won Cups. They had parades.

Successful agitator Tyson Nash, when he was on my Blues, was stuck with the antithesis of playoff clutch, the easily thrown-off-his-game Keith Tkachuk. That didn't work. No Cup. Even if Palin is successful in her task of agitation and distraction, which one is John McCain?

From http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/

[SD_Eagle5]

i have no idea...but i believe its explained by some scientifical theory that hasnt been found it or maybe its been found and not able to be proven...but i certainly dont believe some made up man in the sky did it

There's some that believe mathematics is the language of the universe. The time/space continuum lends some credence towards this belief.

[Cerevant]

I see no difference between teaching world religions and world cultures.  In many cases the two are inseparable.  It might have prevented some of the conflict in the world today if some of our leaders knew more about the people they hate so much...just maybe.

Oh, and on quoting the National Enquirer - consider 6 year old walking up to you and saying "man, you are immature".  That would be especially embarrassing if everyone standing around you nodded in agreement.

[rjs246]

I see no difference between teaching world religions and world cultures.  

Exactly. IGY's refusal to see the cultural and social importance of understanding religion, even if you don't subscribe, is confusing given his usual stance as champion for all things culturally diverse.

Whatever, ultimately religion is like everything else. Some people will take it too far and ruin it for everyone else. Some people will abstain and sermonize about the followers' weakness in succumbing to it. At the end of the day it's an important part of the human experience and should be understood.

[PhillyPhreak54]

I see no difference between teaching world religions and world cultures.  

Exactly. IGY's refusal to see the cultural and social importance of understanding religion, even if you don't subscribe, is confusing given his usual stance as champion for all things culturally diverse.

Whatever, ultimately religion is like everything else. Some people will take it too far and ruin it for everyone else. Some people will abstain and sermonize about the followers' weakness in succumbing to it. At the end of the day it's an important part of the human experience and should be understood.

Exactly, good post.

[Phanatic]

I really think that IGY's not getting the difference between educating people ABOUT religion and teaching them the religion straight up.

If your teaching a history class religion has to come up and does in current classes taught. Lessons I took away from western civ weren't allways positive as far as organized religion is concerned. If you teach the crusades you can't ignore religion's role in that story.

[ice grillin you]

what youre not getting is that its the same thing you cant teach about religion without teaching religion....our society should be secular and if you start teaching religion at a young age it makes it seem as if its the norm and you should be expected to be religious and believe in a god....at the higher education levels if you wanna learn some religious history you have the choice to take that class...

many people dont want their children exposed to religion and god at such a young age...and as much as i hate to admit it me and many of the zealots are on the same side here...a fundementalist christian would not want their child exposed to a religion class where catholicism or islam is discussed nor should they...

again its a private matter and the govt should not be in the business of teaching our children religion...let the parents choose how they want it introduced to their kids and when the child grows into an adult and wants to better themselves by getting a perspective of different religious cultures more power to them im all for it...i totally agree with everyone that people should learn the ways of others...but in the case of religion its not the govts job to do that

[SD_Eagle5]

Regarding religion I think it's important to note that it's been around forever. Mesopotamia which is the oldest known civilization had deities, as did Egypt, ancient Greece, etc. Humans have always believed in a higher power.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

When a Democratic nominee completely avoids pandering to the religious and/or is actually something besides a Christian, then you guys might be on to something.

Until then, you should probably realize that Obama is probably more religious than McCain and STFU about it.

[ATV]

Humans have always believed in a higher power.

True. Another thing worth noting is that the percentage of humans who don't believe in a higher power has never been higher than now.

[shorebird]

You should go see your higher power now via a high powered hand gun to the head.

[Rome]

 

[ATV]

You should go see your higher power now via a high powered hand gun to the head.

You tell 'em, Billy Bob!

Yee-ha.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Smooth move, ex lax.

"Let's not play games," he said. "What I was suggesting -- you're absolutely right that John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith. And you're absolutely right that that has not come."

Mr. Stephanopoulos interrupted with, "Christian faith."

As an aside, Stephanopoulos is becoming an excellent newsman.  Everyone knows he bleeds Democrat blue, but you wouldn't know it the way he treats his interviewees.  He really gets pretty much everyone to slip up at one time or another.