Originally published Sunday, September 14, 2008
Anyone who has read my blog (all three of you, LOL) knows that I belong to a lot of mail lists and Yahoo groups that are devoted to knitting in its various forms–lace knitters, shawl knitters, Aran knitting, Fair Isle knitting, EZ’s knitting, MMario’s knitting, yada, yada, yada. For the most part, these lists are kind and gentle communities.
But every once in a while, someone will post a message that starts a firestorm. Among common incendiary topics are copyright (far too many knitters don’t respect the concept), the price designers charge for patterns (some knitters want something for nothing), and broad, absolute pronouncements (lace knitters who don’t use lifelines are arrogant, continental is better than English or vice versa, et cetera).
But the real fireworks come when some well-meaning but judgment-lacking knitter posts a religious or political message. Knitting lists tend to be diversity personified. Male, female; old, young; gay, straight. We have all races, many nationalities, and a smorgasbord of religious beliefs and lack thereof. You can imagine the variety in political beliefs, right?
So, religion and politics are verboten on all the knitting lists to which I belong. But since I have strong beliefs about both religion and politics, and since I have a very big mouth that I can’t keep shut, I like to express my beliefs. My blog, which like most blogs is just a big self-indulgence, is the perfect place for me to make my thoughts known to the rest of the world. If what I say pisses you off, too bad. Don’t read my blog again. ☺
Today you are being treated to a political rant. If you love the Republican ticket for the 2008 presidential race, what follows might piss you off. But I hope you will read it and give some serious thought to the qualifications or lack thereof of the Republican nominees.
What’s up with Sarah Palin? I mean, is she really as abysmally uninformed as she appeared in the interview with Charles Gibson on ABC? When Gibson asked her if she agreed with the Bush Doctrine, she got that deer-in-the-headlights look and went fishing. “In what respect?” she asked Gibson. What is this, a game of Twenty Questions? Even after Gibson explained to her that the Bush Doctrine was the concept of pre-emptive war–the idea that the U.S. has a right to attack a country which it thinks might pose a threat sometime in the future–she started babbling about imminent threats, which are a different ball of wax, to borrow from Radar O’Reilly.
The Republicans are trying to spin Palin’s appalling and inexcusable show of ignorance by saying that most people don’t know what the Bush Doctrine is. That may well be true–Americans tend to be woefully uninformed in many matters–but most Americans are not running for vice president of the United States. Do we really want someone who is this clueless just a heartbeat away from being POTUS? Do we really want to take the risk of having as president a person who thinks that the proximity of Alaska to Siberia constitutes foreign policy expertise? Haven’t the past eight years of an having a grossly uninformed and badly misinformed president in the White House taught us anything?
To say that Sarah Palin’s expertise pales in comparison to, say, Joe Biden’s is an understatement of epic proportions. And to say that John McCain showed a gross disregard for the best interests of the United States of America by choosing a supremely unsuitable running mate for craven political reasons is certainly not an overstatement. Both of them have clearly demonstrated that they are unfit for such high office. And I despair for the future of this country and the rest of the world if these two scoundrels are elected.
Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.
All Kinds Of Knitting 