Dobson asked whether Palin was discouraged by polls showing the GOP ticket behind. “To me, it motivates us, makes us work that much harder,” Palin said. “And it also strengthens my faith, because I’m going to know, at the end of the day, putting this in God’s hands, that the right thing for America will be done at the end of the day on Nov. 4. So I’m not discouraged at all.”

If her ticket loses, will she admit that she & McCain weren’t the right thing for America? Has every president elect been the right thing for America, seeing as how God always makes sure the “right” thing is done at the end of the day? And if God is going to wrap it all up for her anyway, why bother working hard or campaigning?

I don’t think for a minute that Palin actually believes what she is saying here. She can’t believe it, or she wouldn’t be campaigning. It’s like praying when you get sick but going to the doctor anyway. You know prayer won’t work, but you talk about it despite that fact. You go through the motions. You tell yourself it’s powerful when nothing is happening to actually support that belief.

Palin’s statements are the type of mindless spiritual platitudes that religious people pull out of their pockets every Sunday to “encourage each other in the faith.” Without a second thought, they’ll talk about “God’s will being done” and the necessity of working to eradicate some societal “evil” in the same conversation. Perhaps talking about an omnipotent superman makes them feel less helpless, giving the illusion that everything is under the control of a deity that conveniently shares all their individual beliefs, prejudices, and presuppositions (which vary widely even within Palin’s Christian community).

The problem comes when those mindless spiritual platitudes turn into mindless theocratic dogma. Think: California’s Proposition 8. Watch this video of Palin speaking about her support for a constitutional amendment to make gay marriage illegal. Here’s what I transcribe from this speech:

I have voted in Alaska to amend our Constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman. I wish that on the federal level, that’s where we’d go. I don’t support gay marriage. I’m not going to be up there judging individuals, telling them what they can and cannot do, but I certainly can express my own opinion here and take actions that would be best for traditional marriage, and that’s casting my vote….

Of course. And the KKK can express their own opinions and take actions based on those opinions as well. This doesn’t change the fact that the Constitution and Bill of Rights, which should be defended and upheld by those in public office, exist largely to protect the rights of the minority from the will of the majority. That’s why we’re not a direct democracy, where whatever 51% of the public wanted would become law.

No matter how many people (percentage-wise) want African Americans to become slaves again, the egalitarian laws of the land don’t allow the majority to discriminate–even though the Bible sanctions slavery. Your religious freedom means that you don’t have to associate with gay people if you don’t want to; it shouldn’t mean that you can pass legislation that denies them the same privileges you enjoy. We all have to live together, despite personal differences of opinion, hatred, religion, and preference, in a society that, as flawed as it might be, legally provides equality for all.

Want to impose your bigoted personal prejudices on others? I wish I could say, “Too bad, this is America,” but the presence of people like Sarah Palin in public office makes me realize how dangerously close we are to sacrificing the ideals of equality and liberty to theocratic morons who can’t see the difference between personal prejudice and national law because their heads are buried in hateful bronze-age rantings warmed over for mindless Sunday consumption.

The Pittsburgh Sports League, and the friends and teammates of Randy Pausch, invite you to participate in the Randy Pausch Memorial Flag Football Tournament Sunday, October 12 at the South Park Fairgrounds. You remember CMU professor Randy Pausch from his inspiring Last Lecture. He died at the end of July from complications of pancreatic cancer.

Sam Harris makes an interesting point about why Sarah Palin should not be on the ticket, saying:

Americans have an unhealthy desire to see average people promoted to positions of great authority. No one wants an average neurosurgeon or even an average carpenter, but when it comes time to vest a man or woman with more power and responsibility than any person has held in human history, Americans say they want a regular guy, someone just like themselves.

I am going to almost completely overlook his additional dismissals of her utilizing “sassy”, “fuss” and grandma status, because this statement about her averageness is truly the heart of the problem with Palin, not her gender. (oh, Sam.)

Do you need a mid-week fix of what I call “Awesomesnarky”? How about this fantastic takedown by Orac of a concerned citizen researcher (with a PHD from Wiki University) panicking and begging the NIH to Save Our Girls and Do Something about less than a milligram of Histidine in Gardasil? The arrogance of someone who admittedly knows nothing about medical research insisting that they’ve found something that actual medical researchers have overlooked is impressively huge. This might have exceeded the recommended dosage of Awesomesnarky, but at least it is polysorbate-80 free.

2006 Gubernatorial Candidate Questionnaire

The following questionnaire was sent to all candidates for Governor with their responses listed in the order we received them.

…
11. Are you offended by the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?

Sarah Palin (R): Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance.

I don’t want to be too political on this blog, but this is an issue of basic American history. Here are some facts, Ms. Alaska very-possibly-president-if-McCain-lives-past-election-day:

• The pledge was written in 1892–nearly a century after possible endorsement by the “founding fathers.”
• It didn’t become our national pledge until 1942.
• The divisive phrase “under God” (ironically inserted before “indivisible” in the pledge) wasn’t added 1954 when Eisenhower’s reactionary administration wanted to make an anti-Communist statement.
• “Its” should have an apostrophe when used as a contraction representing the words “it is.”

Ignorance of the facts is forgivable. Nobody knows everything. But to pen such a strongly worded reply (”not on your life!”) to a question about which you are clearly historically ignorant seems too ideologically driven to be ignored. This is the the same type of no-questions-asked neo-conservative way of thinking that leads Palin to support teaching myth as science, oppose equality for people who aren’t straight, etc.

“God said it. I believe it. That settles it.”
–Smith Wigglesworth

Cosmic crash unmasks dark matter (BBC News)

I’m not  going to pretend like I understand this stuff. But, I give a lot of credit to astronomers and physicists for coming up with great acronyms like WIMPS and MACHOS that make science more accessible to the general public. Unlike other scientists (I’m looking your way organic chemists).

I wish this was true. (But it’s probably not)

Sarah Palin BabyGate: Explosive Details [Photos+Video]

Just to be fair, here is a counter argument:

Sarah Palin has the vaginal muscles of a female gladiator

—Update—

BRISTOL PALIN PREGNANT — RIGHT NOW (MSNBC) 

Is Sex Addiction Real? Only if your wife’s not cool with it.

Is Sex Addiction Real? (CBS News)

This article isn’t great, but I love this topic.

First off, let me say that I define addiction the way Dr. Drew always did on Loveline: compulsively making bad choices in the face of serious consequences.

Sex addiction is the only disease condition where the individual decides if they have it.

For example, a catholic who masturbates once a week might feel completely awful about it and seek treatment. Where as a sailor, who spends long periods of time at sea, might see no problem with shacking up with a new gal in every port.

Assuming both these hypothetical lads use protection (or lotion), neither of them is facing any real consequences; only perceived or make-believe ones.

(One of my favorite books, that addresses the subject, has been made into a movie. Watch the red-band (NSFW) trailer for Choke.)