Who the Hell is this Woman?

Out of necessity, this blog must take on a decidedly political bent. I really wanted to keep it strictly about atheism and religion, but the current political climate forces me to do otherwise.

I missed the DNC convention last week as I was out of the country, and even missed the introduction of Sarah Palin as the GOP VP pick (imagine my surprise when I re-reentered the country and found it on the airport CNN broadcasts). At first, I thought, 'Really? Joke?' I thought McCain had finally proven his senility to the country in one fell swoop. I certainly know better now. This woman is a menace.

From what I understand of her, she is worse than what we've been putting up with for the last 8 years. If the far Religious Right thought they had power before, now it will know no bounds (just when we thought it was on the wane). The thing about Bush is that, despite his yammering on about his God and mission, there was a safe spot in the back of our minds that told us he didn't really mean it. It was all a big show to keep the nutters happy and guarantee their votes when needed. He didn't really believe it. Maybe to an extent, but it was never anything that topped his political ambitions. With Palin, it looks as though we have a real warrior for God. This is disturbing. More than that, it is horrifying.

Now here this:

Palin has called on people to pray for the cooperation necessary to build a natural gas pipeline across Alaska, labeled the U.S. mission in Iraq a "task that is from God" and argued that students should be taught the creation account from Genesis in public schools.

Click the link and read more about her views on the environment and foreign policy as influenced directly by her faith. Her theological background preaches 'man's dominion over the earth,' and in that sense, all the drilling, polluting, and destroying matters not.

"When she talks about using up our non-renewable resources, drilling on the North Slope and building the pipeline, it's almost with glee because in a sense it doesn't matter," said Nancy Hardesty, a professor of religion at Clemson University in South Carolina.

Her own pastor has this to say regarding her foreign policy outlook:

Rev. Tim McGraw, Palin's pastor when she became mayor of Wasilla, said believers look to Israel for signs of the coming end times and where they are in God's plan. That would undoubtedly influence Palin's approach to foreign policy, McGraw said.

Not terrified enough, ladies? How about this? She opposes sex-ed and supports abstinence only education. This is despite her own teenage daughter getting knocked up, unmarried. Guess that promise ring didn't do much to keep her from playing a little 'hide the sausage' with a 'fucking redneck' (yeehaw! Embarrassed guy? You should be). If this woman can't get abstinence only to work in her own family, how does she expect it to work for an entire nation?

Solution? Keep the baby! All of them! Now matter what! That's right, if Palin has her way, we will have no choice, ladies. McCain wants to overtrun Roe v. Wade. Palin wants it too, one state at a time and regardless of the situation. From her 2006 gubernatorial race:

The candidates were pressed on their stances on abortion and were even asked what they would do if their own daughters were raped and became pregnant.

Palin said she would support abortion only if the mother's life was in danger. When it came to her daughter, she said, "I would choose life."

This is hardcore even to the average Anti-Choicer.

Ladies, don't be stupid--a vagina isn't a vagina isn't a vagina. You can't just throw a set of genitals up there and say, ah, she speaks for me because we both have vaginae. Please. A vote for Palin isn't a vote for a woman's rights. I've seen this type of 'powerful woman' before. This is the kind of woman who knows that in order to make it in life--to get ahead in powerful positions--she must go along with the sexist status quo. Her religion has made this easier for her. She is the type of woman who knows that in order to get along with men and become 'one of the boys,' she has to act and think like one of them, which is to say, she must oppose everything that is good and equal for women and do her best to uphold business as usual. Worse, she needs to do what she can to take away what rights we've fought to hard to acquire over the years. This is one way women can get men to like them. The other way is to screw them.

This is not a feminist candidate. This woman is not for us, she is against us. Do not be fooled. If we expect to be considered for more than our genitals, we have to look at the rest of the world and each other in the same way. Look at this woman's credentials and try to control your gag reflex as you want to throw up at the spectacle of the Republican Party snagging a traditionally Democratic cornerstone--feminism--and rape it. Want to puke? Me too.

To recap, and more:

She opposes just about every issue that women support by a majority or plurality. She believes that creationism should be taught in public schools but disbelieves global warming; she opposes gun control but supports government control of women's wombs; she opposes stem cell research but approves "abstinence-only" programs, which increase unwanted births, sexually transmitted diseases and abortions; she tried to use taxpayers' millions for a state program to shoot wolves from the air but didn't spend enough money to fix a state school system with the lowest high-school graduation rate in the nation; she runs with a candidate who opposes the Fair Pay Act but supports $500 million in subsidies for a natural gas pipeline across Alaska; she supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, though even McCain has opted for the lesser evil of offshore drilling. She is Phyllis Schlafly, only younger.

Got it? Good. That was my plea to women not smart enough to figure it out. This is my plea to men not smart enough to figure something else out: Just because she's doable doesn't mean it's okay to vote for her. I understand some men's desire to have a little eye-candy around, but really, this is not the time, nor the place. Put it back in your pants and start thinking with your big head.