A Dookie in the McCain-Palin Pool

I thought that John McCain showed a great deal of courage and insight in choosing Sarah Palin as his runningmate.  Before I go any further, after 8 years of Bill Clinton followed by 8 more of George Bush, I have come to the conclusion that backing either platform is a mistake.  Neither party has all of the answers and what we really need are bi-partisans who care more about serving the people than serving themselves and their cronies.  As a result, I am solidly an independent. 

Forget for a moment what Sarah Palin’s positions are and what her background is.  After having announced his choice for Vice President and being introduced to Sarah Palin, who by most accounts seems like a decent choice, we were introduced to her family.  Sarah and her husband were high school sweethearts, their son is being deployed to Iraq, four other beautiful children including a newborn with Downs Syndrome.  Sounds like an all-American family.  In fact, at first glance, it seemed as if Sarah Palin could identify with the average, middle-class American- a large group that has been given the shaft by both parties for decades. 

A few short days later, we all learned that her teen-aged daughter was pregnant.

Unexpected pregnancies happen every day in this country and throughout most of the world.  This in and of itself should make Sarah & her family even more like yours and mine: we’re fallible and we all make mistakes.

What concerns me is this: Why did we not hear about this unplanned pregnancy and the wedding plans on Friday when her family was introduced to the nation?    Why not announce that a grandchild is on the way?  I admire the fact that the Palin’s are being supportive of their daughter during what must be a difficult time in her life right now.  We can’t blame Bristol and her boyfriend for this situation, they fessed up to the only people that they are responsible to and are preparing to bring their child into the world.

Herein lies the Dookie: Had the Palin’s been upfront about this matter, I’m quite confident that America would have been far more understanding than many are now.  The media frenzy has  been absolutely disgusting.  Although after Michael Jackson, Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears, we all now know that the media appeals to the lowest common denominator has no credibilty left with people who can actually think logically for themselves.

Instead of bringing a fresh perspective and new ideas, it would appear as if Sarah Palin has quickly learned the deceitful ways of a Washington veteran.

 

Mailman Campaigns to Wear Skirt

Yes, that is the actual headline of an article on CNN.com and to my knowledge, the photo above has not been photoshopped. 

Let’s see… gays are now marrying each other in a number of states which is fine, Paris Hilton’s energy policy not only actually makes sense, it’s better than those put forth by either Barack Obama or John McCain and a ‘Mega-Preacher’s’ wife is being sued for elbowing a flight attendant in the left boob. 

In a world that has seemingly gone mad, Dean Peterson can’t get relief from the chaffing caused by the interaction between his regulation USPS uniform and his genitals?  The Scots have been wearing kilts for how long?  Sure, I’ll admit nobody really looks cool wearing a kilt except for maybe Sean Connery, but what’s the big deal if this guy wants to wear a kilt to deliver the mail?  So what?  He’s not hurting anybody so why not allow him some relief?

Dean Peterson used much of his $1,800 stimulus check to mail about 1,000 letters and photographs of himself wearing a prototype Postal Service kilt to union branches across the country.  Unfortunately, it was all for naught as his proposal was defeated during his union’s recent convention.   

I don’t know if Mr. Peterson will ever get to wear a kilt while delivering the mail but I don’t think that his chances are very good.  Why you might ask?  Because Mr. Peterson doesn’t represent a vocal minority. 

I’m not a bigot in any way, shape or form.  I believe that everyone should be treated with the same level of dignity and respect regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, culture, beliefs or religion. 

I do have an issue when people manipulate their status in order to receive unneccesary special treatment at the expense of everyone else.

I strongly suspect that if Mr. Peterson were gay or a transsexual, transgender etc. he could claim some form of discrimination or EEOC violation and be permitted to wear his kilt to work, and rightly so.  The fact that I point this disparity out and because Mr. Peterson probably isn’t gay or a transexual or transgender person, I’m labeled as being insensitive or worse.

I believe that if he were a member of a visible minority, he’d be able to claim that his wearing a kilt was some sort of tribal or other ritual dating back several hundred years–and ultimately would be permitted to wear his kilt to deliver the mail.  A number of years ago in Toronto, Sikhs who were hired by the Toronto Police Service fought for and won the right to wear turbans while on duty.  Again, no problem here.  The fact that I point this disparity out and because Mr. Peterson is not a member of a visible minority, I’m labeled a racist.

Recently in the Town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, the Ramapo Police hired an orthodox Jewish woman as a police officer.  Great!  A little multiculturalism and diversity is good for community policing.  Except that despite her having apparently agreed to be available to work on Friday evenings and Saturdays as well as stating that she’d obtain special dispensation from her rabbi to work those days if hired, she has been given a free pass to have those days off.  No problem here except…

…I know Christian police officers who have been on the job for more than 10 years who have never been given Christmas off.  Because I had the audacity to point this inconsistency out I’m sure to be labeled an anti-Semite.

To make matters worse, the town supervisor recently criticized a Ramapo Police Officer who had an orthodox Jewish woman remove her wig for a mugshot saying “Ramapo police are trained to respect religious and cultural beliefs and the officer should have known the religious nature of the wig. He has ordered new programs in police sensitivity training”. 

Apparently respecting the religious and cultural beliefs of Ramapo Police officers is not a consideration here.

Pretty slick–this woman transformed herself from a criminal to a victim just like that.  No mention of the fact that this woman was being charged with a felony and quite frankly, I wonder how many other women, African American, Christian, Hispanic etc. have had to remove their wigs, hats, burkas etc. for a mugshot when being charged with a felony and have not had the town supervisor publicly pander come to their aid?

This issue of people manipulating their minority status in order to receive unneccesary special treatment at the expense of everyone else has been around long before the Politicaly Correct folks showed up imposing their beliefs on the rest of us.  Again this represents a vocal minority imposing on the freedoms of the rest of us. 

We have the right to our race, gender, sexual orientation, culture, beliefs and religion, but our race, gender, sexual orientation, culture, beliefs and religion shouldn’t give us special rights at the expense of others.