White House Correspondence Dinner 2009
posted by Paulina at
11:55 AM
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Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Monday, September 15, 2008
Palinguage
Here are some of my favorite "Palinguage" vocabulary definitions. For more go here.
If you’re a minority and you’re selected for a job over more qualified candidates you’re a “token hire.”
If you’re a conservative and you’re selected for a job over more qualified candidates you’re a “game changer.”
If you live in an Urban area and you get a girl pregnant you’re a “baby daddy.”
If you’re the same in Alaska you’re a “teen father.”
Black teen pregnancies? A “crisis” in black America.
White teen pregnancies? A “blessed event.”
If you grow up in Hawaii you’re “exotic.”
Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, you’re the quintessential “American story.”
Similarly, if you name you kid Barack you’re “unpatriotic.”
Name your kid Track, you’re “colorful.”
If you’re a Democrat and you make a VP pick without fulling vetting the individual you’re “reckless.”
A Republican who doesn’t fully vet is a “maverick.”
If you are a Democratic male candidate who is popular with millions of people you are an "arrogant celebrity."
If you are a popular Republican female candidate you are "energizing the base."
If you manage a multi-million dollar nation-wide campaign you are an "empty suit."
If you are part-time mayor of town of 9000 people, you are an "experienced executive."
If you go to a Southside Chicago church your beliefs are "extremist."
If you believe in creationism and don't believe global warming is man-made you are "strongly principled."
If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month you are a "Christian."
If you've been married to the same woman for nineteen years raising two beautiful children, you are "risky."
If you say that for the “first time in my adult lifetime I’m really proud of my country” it makes you “unfit” to be First Lady.
If you are a registered member of a fringe political group that advocates secession that makes you “First Dude.”
If you get 18 million people to vote for you in a national presidential primary, you’re a “phoney.”
Get 100,000+ people to vote you governor of the 47th most populous state in the Union, you’re “well loved.”
If you give your wife a dap on stage, it’s actually a “terrorist fist jab.”
If your daughter licks her palm so that she can slick down your youngest child’s hair on national TV it’s an “adorable moment.”
If you spend 18 months building a campaign around the theme of “Change,” it’s just “empty rhetoric.”
If one week before your party’s national convention you SUDDENLY make your candidacy about “Change,” that’s “red meat.”
If you’re a minority and you’re selected for a job over more qualified candidates you’re a “token hire.”
If you’re a conservative and you’re selected for a job over more qualified candidates you’re a “game changer.”
If you live in an Urban area and you get a girl pregnant you’re a “baby daddy.”
If you’re the same in Alaska you’re a “teen father.”
Black teen pregnancies? A “crisis” in black America.
White teen pregnancies? A “blessed event.”
If you grow up in Hawaii you’re “exotic.”
Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, you’re the quintessential “American story.”
Similarly, if you name you kid Barack you’re “unpatriotic.”
Name your kid Track, you’re “colorful.”
If you’re a Democrat and you make a VP pick without fulling vetting the individual you’re “reckless.”
A Republican who doesn’t fully vet is a “maverick.”
If you are a Democratic male candidate who is popular with millions of people you are an "arrogant celebrity."
If you are a popular Republican female candidate you are "energizing the base."
If you manage a multi-million dollar nation-wide campaign you are an "empty suit."
If you are part-time mayor of town of 9000 people, you are an "experienced executive."
If you go to a Southside Chicago church your beliefs are "extremist."
If you believe in creationism and don't believe global warming is man-made you are "strongly principled."
If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month you are a "Christian."
If you've been married to the same woman for nineteen years raising two beautiful children, you are "risky."
If you say that for the “first time in my adult lifetime I’m really proud of my country” it makes you “unfit” to be First Lady.
If you are a registered member of a fringe political group that advocates secession that makes you “First Dude.”
If you get 18 million people to vote for you in a national presidential primary, you’re a “phoney.”
Get 100,000+ people to vote you governor of the 47th most populous state in the Union, you’re “well loved.”
If you give your wife a dap on stage, it’s actually a “terrorist fist jab.”
If your daughter licks her palm so that she can slick down your youngest child’s hair on national TV it’s an “adorable moment.”
If you spend 18 months building a campaign around the theme of “Change,” it’s just “empty rhetoric.”
If one week before your party’s national convention you SUDDENLY make your candidacy about “Change,” that’s “red meat.”
posted by Paulina at
2:15 PM
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Thursday, August 28, 2008
Democratic Convention Day 3- what a night!
I listened to the convention last night via Air America radio, which was streaming it live with little bits of commentary between speeches. Wow, what a night! I cried, I laughed, it was so exciting. It really gave me a profound sense of something or other.
My favorite parts:
- New Mexico and Illinois yielded to New York during the roll call, and Hillary went up to the mic and asked the procedural rules to be suspended and to nominate Barack Obama by acclamation. Palosi then asked the crowd of delegates to vote and they all scream Yay!. Oh it's beautiful.
- Bill Clinton gets up to speak and the crowd just won't quiet down. He has to ask them finally to stop. And what a speech! The man can speak, that's for sure. The most popular president of our time. He makes a full endorsement of Obama, specifically stating that Obama is ready and fully qualified.
- then Kerry rips his friend McCain a new one, which is really nice because we didn't get to hear any fighting words from him in 2004.
- Beau Biden, Joe Biden's son, and Attorney General of Delaware, came up to introduce his dad. He spoke about the accident, in which his mom and sister were killed shortly after Joe was elected to the Senate - made me sob. And then Joe Biden came up and gave a lovely speech. He said some really sweet things about his son and mother, and beat up on McCain some more. And as he was done Obama surprised everyone by showing up and saying thanks to him in person, which was just so touching.
It was all so uplifting. Still, there were some points made that I strongly disagree with. Joe Biden spoke of holding Russia accountable and supporting the young democracy in Georgia. I have already told you my views on the subject, but I think this was wicked pandering.
My favorite parts:
- New Mexico and Illinois yielded to New York during the roll call, and Hillary went up to the mic and asked the procedural rules to be suspended and to nominate Barack Obama by acclamation. Palosi then asked the crowd of delegates to vote and they all scream Yay!. Oh it's beautiful.
- Bill Clinton gets up to speak and the crowd just won't quiet down. He has to ask them finally to stop. And what a speech! The man can speak, that's for sure. The most popular president of our time. He makes a full endorsement of Obama, specifically stating that Obama is ready and fully qualified.
- then Kerry rips his friend McCain a new one, which is really nice because we didn't get to hear any fighting words from him in 2004.
- Beau Biden, Joe Biden's son, and Attorney General of Delaware, came up to introduce his dad. He spoke about the accident, in which his mom and sister were killed shortly after Joe was elected to the Senate - made me sob. And then Joe Biden came up and gave a lovely speech. He said some really sweet things about his son and mother, and beat up on McCain some more. And as he was done Obama surprised everyone by showing up and saying thanks to him in person, which was just so touching.
It was all so uplifting. Still, there were some points made that I strongly disagree with. Joe Biden spoke of holding Russia accountable and supporting the young democracy in Georgia. I have already told you my views on the subject, but I think this was wicked pandering.
posted by Paulina at
9:10 AM
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Monday, August 25, 2008
Obama says American kids should learn Spanish
So I will start of with this bit of old news. Back in July Obama gave a speech in Georgia, during which he mentioned that Americans should worry less about immigrants learning English then making sure that their kids spoke Spanish. Sounds very inflammatory right? Sounds like Obama would like Spanish to take over the states, forcing everyone to learn to speak Spanish, adopt it as a second language, that sort of thing. So lets put this statement in context.
And for those of you who can't see the video, here is the transcript, word for word:
[I don’t understand… when people go around worrying about “we need to have English only”. They want to pass a law “we want just, we want English only”. Now I agree that immigrants should learn English. I agree with that. But… but understand this, instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English – they’ll learn English – you need to make sure that your child can speak Spanish. You should be thinking about how can your child become bilingual. We should have every child speaking more than one language. You know, it’s embarrassing, it’s embarrassing, when… when Europeans come over here, they all speak English, they speak French, they speak German. And then we go over to Europe, and all we can say is “Merci beaucoup.” Right?]
Well, after watching what he actually is talking about, which is not that every child should learn Spanish but that every child should study a foreign language, I think he is completely right. Please note, that he does not say that every child should be forced to learn a foreign language, nor that that the US has to become a bilingual state, but that an American's education should include an appreciation and understanding of foreign cultures. And this goes back to my earlier point of America being woefully lacking in knowledge of much beyond it's borders.
Interestingly, while looking for this video I came across a number of blogs etc that cut off the speech after 30 seconds, just where Barack says "you need to make sure that your child can speak Spanish." And I can see how that would get a lot of people upset.
And for those of you who can't see the video, here is the transcript, word for word:
[I don’t understand… when people go around worrying about “we need to have English only”. They want to pass a law “we want just, we want English only”. Now I agree that immigrants should learn English. I agree with that. But… but understand this, instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English – they’ll learn English – you need to make sure that your child can speak Spanish. You should be thinking about how can your child become bilingual. We should have every child speaking more than one language. You know, it’s embarrassing, it’s embarrassing, when… when Europeans come over here, they all speak English, they speak French, they speak German. And then we go over to Europe, and all we can say is “Merci beaucoup.” Right?]
Well, after watching what he actually is talking about, which is not that every child should learn Spanish but that every child should study a foreign language, I think he is completely right. Please note, that he does not say that every child should be forced to learn a foreign language, nor that that the US has to become a bilingual state, but that an American's education should include an appreciation and understanding of foreign cultures. And this goes back to my earlier point of America being woefully lacking in knowledge of much beyond it's borders.
Interestingly, while looking for this video I came across a number of blogs etc that cut off the speech after 30 seconds, just where Barack says "you need to make sure that your child can speak Spanish." And I can see how that would get a lot of people upset.
posted by Paulina at
11:02 AM
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8 Comments
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Why, oh why, is McCain doing so well???
I have been all atwitter this past week, terrified at the notion that McCain could actually win the election this year (and by that I mean legally, and not through election fraud as happened the last two times). I am not exaggerating, the thought actually scares me. More than the prospect of four more years of neo-con rule, what really bothers me is the reality of more than half of Americans actually voting for him. If McCain wins, I promise you, I will loose what's left of my faith in this country and it's people.
Not that I ever really had much to begin with. Most Americans, I am sorry to say, are simple, selfish, poorly educated, blindly patriotic, and remarkably ill-informed when it comes to anything of importance outside it's borders (and frequently within the borders as well). Naturally, for my own well being, I make a point of staying far away from these fools, and try to keep in my circle of acquaintances people who will not drive me up the wall with their ignorance. And as most human beings, I prefer to be around those who share my core values. There are some exceptions, such as a few deeply religious people that have made it on my list of friends, whose faith I am willing to overlook just as long as we don't discuss it too much and their other values don't contradict mine. Yet I have recently become aware that at least two of my closer friends, are planning to vote for McCain. AAAAAAAAh!!!
What? How? Whyyyyyy?????? Well, that is precisely what I asked one of them (the one that I can hope to remain friends with even if we disagree on politics, because thankfully, we agree on most everything else). So I have decided that from now on I will dedicate a few posts to topics that my friend has brought up as of importance to her (and reasons for choosing McCain over Obama), and so as not to single her out, I will also draw from the general pro-McCain and anti-Obama opinions and give my take on them. This being my blog, I think I am perfectly entitled.
Some of the things I plan to write about are clarifications/information about Obama's stance on an issue, others will refute blatant lies of the opposition, and others still will simply point out what I think is bad about McCain. Naturally my hope is that some of my readers (all 5 of you or whatever) might be swayed either by facts or my fervor. Mostly, however, I need to vent.
First and foremost, however, a disclaimer. The following is a list of things I believe to be right and moral and the best way of doing things. If you truly think that the opposite way is better, and this is your honest opinion, and not an uninformed or brain washed one, then you have my respect in that at least you use your head for something. It is perhaps better, however, if we never meet, as we are sure to dislike each other immensely. Anyway, I believe ...
... that the USA is not the greatest country on Earth but just a country that happens to be big and rich and currently influential. It will pass, just like the British, the Ottoman and the Romans before them. For now we are capable of doing great harm but might be able to do a little bit of good too
... other countries and people who live in them are just as entitled to their opinions and a chance at expressing them as we are, providing they are not trying to kill us or too many others
... diplomacy and not military force should be used to solve problems
... when butting into other countries problems, we must do so because it is for the good of it's people, and not because we can gain something economically (OIL!!!)
... people get the government they deserve
... the best thing about America is the promise of freedom
... I believe in the freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and freedom FROM religion
... America is not a Christian nation, there just happen to be a lot of Christians around
... being a Muslim is not bad, and it certainly does not make you evil
... every woman should have the right to choose whether to keep or get rid of (kill, if you'd like) the embryo/fetus inside of her
... every single person in this country should have excellent and affordable medical coverage; EVERY SINGLE ONE!!!!
... taxes are good and necessary but the less you make the more tax break you should get
... corporations are not people, they are not entitled to the same rights, and should not get benefits people do not
... if you want to stop illegal immigrations, try to work with Mexico and make it better, so that fewer people feel like immigrating
... and on a similar note, every one in this country was once an immigrant
... education should be excellent and free, at least up until Bachelor's level; it should be paid for by taxes
... creationism and other religious nonsense has no place in public schools, unless you are discussing religion as a subject matter
... being homosexual is no different than being heterosexual and all rights including those of getting married (legal in the eyes of the law, not God) must be available to all
... we must all care for the sick and the poor who cannot care for themselves
... and the help to the sick and the poor must be excellent and paid for by taxes
... real unbiased journalism should make it's way back into every day media (television)
... anchors and talk show hosts who blatantly lie should be fired
... politicians who are found to be blatantly lying, stealing or cheating should be fired
... this planet is precious, global warming and pollution are a problem, and no country and no people are special enough that they can't be inconvenienced for the sake of keeping the planet around for a little while longer, SUCK IT UP and recycle etc
... who you have sex with is none of my business unless you are hurting them or me
There are probably a few others but these are just a few that come to mind. Anyway, today's post is just a kind of introduction to my future theme. If any of you have any suggestions of topics/points I should discuss, drop me a comment.
Not that I ever really had much to begin with. Most Americans, I am sorry to say, are simple, selfish, poorly educated, blindly patriotic, and remarkably ill-informed when it comes to anything of importance outside it's borders (and frequently within the borders as well). Naturally, for my own well being, I make a point of staying far away from these fools, and try to keep in my circle of acquaintances people who will not drive me up the wall with their ignorance. And as most human beings, I prefer to be around those who share my core values. There are some exceptions, such as a few deeply religious people that have made it on my list of friends, whose faith I am willing to overlook just as long as we don't discuss it too much and their other values don't contradict mine. Yet I have recently become aware that at least two of my closer friends, are planning to vote for McCain. AAAAAAAAh!!!
What? How? Whyyyyyy?????? Well, that is precisely what I asked one of them (the one that I can hope to remain friends with even if we disagree on politics, because thankfully, we agree on most everything else). So I have decided that from now on I will dedicate a few posts to topics that my friend has brought up as of importance to her (and reasons for choosing McCain over Obama), and so as not to single her out, I will also draw from the general pro-McCain and anti-Obama opinions and give my take on them. This being my blog, I think I am perfectly entitled.
Some of the things I plan to write about are clarifications/information about Obama's stance on an issue, others will refute blatant lies of the opposition, and others still will simply point out what I think is bad about McCain. Naturally my hope is that some of my readers (all 5 of you or whatever) might be swayed either by facts or my fervor. Mostly, however, I need to vent.
First and foremost, however, a disclaimer. The following is a list of things I believe to be right and moral and the best way of doing things. If you truly think that the opposite way is better, and this is your honest opinion, and not an uninformed or brain washed one, then you have my respect in that at least you use your head for something. It is perhaps better, however, if we never meet, as we are sure to dislike each other immensely. Anyway, I believe ...
... that the USA is not the greatest country on Earth but just a country that happens to be big and rich and currently influential. It will pass, just like the British, the Ottoman and the Romans before them. For now we are capable of doing great harm but might be able to do a little bit of good too
... other countries and people who live in them are just as entitled to their opinions and a chance at expressing them as we are, providing they are not trying to kill us or too many others
... diplomacy and not military force should be used to solve problems
... when butting into other countries problems, we must do so because it is for the good of it's people, and not because we can gain something economically (OIL!!!)
... people get the government they deserve
... the best thing about America is the promise of freedom
... I believe in the freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and freedom FROM religion
... America is not a Christian nation, there just happen to be a lot of Christians around
... being a Muslim is not bad, and it certainly does not make you evil
... every woman should have the right to choose whether to keep or get rid of (kill, if you'd like) the embryo/fetus inside of her
... every single person in this country should have excellent and affordable medical coverage; EVERY SINGLE ONE!!!!
... taxes are good and necessary but the less you make the more tax break you should get
... corporations are not people, they are not entitled to the same rights, and should not get benefits people do not
... if you want to stop illegal immigrations, try to work with Mexico and make it better, so that fewer people feel like immigrating
... and on a similar note, every one in this country was once an immigrant
... education should be excellent and free, at least up until Bachelor's level; it should be paid for by taxes
... creationism and other religious nonsense has no place in public schools, unless you are discussing religion as a subject matter
... being homosexual is no different than being heterosexual and all rights including those of getting married (legal in the eyes of the law, not God) must be available to all
... we must all care for the sick and the poor who cannot care for themselves
... and the help to the sick and the poor must be excellent and paid for by taxes
... real unbiased journalism should make it's way back into every day media (television)
... anchors and talk show hosts who blatantly lie should be fired
... politicians who are found to be blatantly lying, stealing or cheating should be fired
... this planet is precious, global warming and pollution are a problem, and no country and no people are special enough that they can't be inconvenienced for the sake of keeping the planet around for a little while longer, SUCK IT UP and recycle etc
... who you have sex with is none of my business unless you are hurting them or me
There are probably a few others but these are just a few that come to mind. Anyway, today's post is just a kind of introduction to my future theme. If any of you have any suggestions of topics/points I should discuss, drop me a comment.
posted by Paulina at
11:15 PM
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2 Comments
