Pit bulls, Lipstick, Pigs...Oh My!

Unless you have been living under a rock the past couple of days, you are fully aware of the controversy surrounding Barack Obama's comment at a political rally on Tuesday. Just Google the single word "lipstick" and you'll see.

You can put lipstick on a pig. It's still a pig. - Barack Obama

About a week ago at the Republican National Convention, Sarah Palin made her now famous joke saying that the only difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is lipstick.

Now, the Right is saying this was a direct attack on Gov. Palin by Obama. The Left is saying that in no way was this an attack on Gov. Palin. In fact, the pig/lipstick joke has been used by politicians in the past, including John McCain. So, says the Left, how can this be an attack on Palin when McCain himself used the joke last year?

Ah...key words there, Left: last year.

The Left is forgetting the all too important factor of context. You remember context, right? Oh wait...that's right...it's all too easy to take things out of context so that it fits your political agenda (after all, you do it all the time in your campaign ads).

John McCain did use the lipstick/pig joke back in 2007, when he was referring to Hillary Clinton's health care plan. This was way before he had chosen Sarah Palin as his running mate and certainly way before he was considered even close to being the front runner for the GOP ticket.

Since the RNC, Palin's quip about pit bulls and hockey moms has become famous. And now suddenly Obama uses this joke at a rally...yet he says it wasn't directed at her, he wasn't calling her a pig, and this is just another fictional controversy cooked up by the GOP. Well, I find it hard to believe that Obama's joke wasn't about Palin. If you watch the video on YouTube, you'll notice the immediate laughter, hoots and hollars from the crowd as soon as he mentions the word "lipstick." They knew who the joke was directed towards. Why doesn't Obama?

The "Lipstick Bungle" at it has been called will surely die down soon and give way to another scandal. There's bound to be at least a few more before November. I just hope that in the meantime, a lipstick color comes out in honor of Palin. I'm thinking "Barracuda Burgundy" or "Pretty In Pink Palin."

Inhalater

Lunch at Johnny J's Diner in Casper, Wyoming - $6.79
One tank of gas for campaign tour bus - $360
Hotel room for the night while campaigning in Dillonvale, OH - $159

The Great One without his teleprompter - priceless.

(While I can appreciate the man is probably sleep deprived (like every politician that has ever run for office), don't rail Bush for his "Bush-isms" when Obama pulls one out in this priceless clip.)

Classes I Missed During College

Just over six years ago, I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I earned my BA in journalism and mass communication. As one of the most popular majors for students at the university, the School of Journalism was home to some of the best professors at UNC, talented and promising students (I see one of my former classmates as a reporter on our local news all the time) and some of the most interesting classes offered at the university. One my classes - Censorship - was a coveted class that typically only seniors were able to enroll in (seniors got first dibs during semester registration). I took classes in advertising (my concentration), editorial writing, media law, women in advertising, first amendment issues, and copy writing. I loved my major, and wouldn't have opted to graduate with any other degree. Between the coursework and the professors, I couldn't have asked for a better educational experience than the one I received at Carolina.

However, on thinking back on my degree and college experience, I'm afraid that I might have missed some critical coursework on my way to becoming a journalist. After all, I don't currently work in the field of journalism. Did my class selections more than six years ago prevent me from becoming a reporter or a high-powered ad executive? Did I shut myself out of journalism so many years ago and did not even realize it? Perhaps if I had taken the following classes, I would be a news commentator right this very moment.

Spinning 101. The objectives of the course are to equip students with the artful tactics of spinning a news story to meet either 1) your personal agenda or 2) the agenda of the news outlet you work for. Students are expected to master spinning techniques such as editorializing, miss-characterization, and politicizing news stories. This course has Math For Journalists as a prerequisite.

Rewriting History 141. In this course, students will learn how to take an otherwise reliable source for a news story, throw it out the window, and write the story you really want to write, regardless of the factual information at hand.

Smear Writing 132. Students will learn the art of smearing a political candidate, regardless from what party, to fit the agenda of 1) you or 2) the news outlet you work for. In this course, you will learn the ever popular method of smear writing in the blogging world.

Math for Journalists 165. This course teaches students how to skew statistics, recalculate figures, adjust political poll numbers, alter dates and times, and in some instances, eliminate important numbers all together.

Reporting From the Pedestal 212. This graduate-level course will teach students how to elevate themselves to "elite journalist" status. During this course, students will learn how to look down on the common man, look up to admired politicians, avoid criticizing these admired politicians, and associate strictly with other elite journalists. Students will also learn the importance of incorporating The New Yorker, The Economist, the New York Times and MSNBC into everyday news media intake.

Maybe I did shoot myself in the foot all these years ago. After all, most of the "journalists" I see on television embody the above principles. Most articles that appear in mainstream newspapers and news websites are written with an agenda (usually a liberal agenda). Journalists are not journalists any more. Gone are the days of Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow and Katharine Graham. Gone are the days when what you heard on the nightly news was actually...gasp!...factual and not dripping with a political agenda. What's left today is a glut of information that consumers have to wade through in order to get to the real truth. That is, if consumers take the time to actually research what they hear on television or read about online.

Now, I admit, that a lot of my posts center on politics and conservative ideals. I'm a proud member of the GOP. I am pro-life, a Christian and a proud wife to a God-fearing, Christian man. I have strong views about the world and society, and opinions on everything from the Olympics to the economy to UNC football games.

But I don't claim to be a journalist. We all have our own opinions and ideas about the world, but journalists are suppose to leave their opinions at the door and deliver unbiased stories to the public. But all too often, journalism students are educated at increasingly liberal universities (and I don't exclude my own Alma mater here) and then join liberal media outlets upon graduation. Perhaps it would behoove everyone - journalists and consumers alike - to cancel classes such as Spinning 101 and Reporting From The Pedestal 212 so that, finally, consumers can decide for themselves, and not have to wade through biased stories from mainstream news "journalists."

UPDATE: Check out this gem from Michelle Malkin. The perfect punctuation for this post.

Oh, You're Just Jealous

The buzz about Sarah Palin has been non-stop the past couple of days. Political blogs are alive with the sound of Republican music - lyrics such as "lifetime member of the National Rifle Association" and "a conservative, pro-life politician" and "more experience than Barack Obama" and "willing to stand up to corruption, even within her own party." She's a maverick in her own right (she's even a member of the Feminist for Life organization!), and a wonderful compliment to John McCain. The Republican ticket is solid, formidable, and the Dems are running around like chickens with their heads cut off because they're scared, and a little jealous.

Jealous, you ask? Oh, sure. Just like how my dog Sydney gets jealous when I pet my other dog River. Sydney runs over to us and head-butts River and tries to take her out. And not so much to gain the attention for herself, but to take it away from River. This is what the Dems are trying to do to Sarah Palin. They are head-butting her not so much to take the spotlight off of them (they are still on their post-convention high), but they certainly do not want it on...gasp!...a Republican (and certainly not someone as cool as Sarah Palin. Boy, I bet Hillary is just spitting nails right now. Wasn't she suppose to be staring in the new Will Smith movie I Am Feminist this year?).

If you've been keeping up with the news the past few days and reading the political news blogs, you know what I'm talking about. You'll see that liberals are grasping at straws trying to find something, anything, to catch Palin on. I'm sure you've heard the crazy talk by now: that her infant son Trig is not really her baby, but the illegitimate son of her 17 year old daughter Bristol, but...if it is really her own son, then she did not take advice from doctors to follow proper pre-natal care for the baby. Please.

Oh, and the Dems are trying to say that she has no experience. Hmmm...if by "no experience" you mean serving in elected office since 1992, then yes, she has "no experience." Hey Dems - what was YOUR chosen candidate doing in 1992? (Answer: working on his personal memoir, Dreams From My Father, which he finished up in Bali with Michelle so that he could have a "peaceful sanctuary" in which to write. Must be nice.). And while Barack was sunning himself in Bali and penning his memoir (which was originally suppose to be a book about race relations in America), Sarah Palin was serving on the Wasilla City Council, making decisions everyday that affected the lives of her constituents. There's absolutely no question who has more experience here. Keep trying, liberal lovers of Barack Obama. Keep trying to bring her down. It's actually quite amusing to see you fumbling and flailing about, trying to find dirt on Sarah Palin.

So, the next couple of months will be pretty interesting. I can't wait for the first Palin-Biden debate. And I hope that when McCain and Palin win, that Palin will decorate the VP house in a snow cabin/ski lodge/Pottery Barn kind of way. And I hope that she proudly hangs her membership certificate to the Feminists for Life organization in the foyer of the house at Number One Observatory Circle.

You know the Dems would be so jealous.

Pre-Season Is Over, Baby

Being dutiful American citizens, the husband and I have been watching (really tolerating) the Democratic National Convention this week on NBC. Sure, our living room between the hours of 10 and 11 pm is reminiscent of a severe case of 5 o'clock road rage as the husband and I yell back at the TV (I know you can hear us!), but we feel that watching the DNC is important this political season as we grow closer and closer to November. I mean, we gotta hear what the other guys (and gals) are saying, right?

And as I have watched the DNC the past couple of nights (which has only served to solidify the many reasons why I am a registered Republican), I'm amused at how much of a love-fest the DNC is for the Dems. People started crying before Michelle Obama could get her first few lines out. Hillary said last night that Obama was her man, when clearly her face showed that all she wanted to do was bitch-slap the dude and send him back to Chicago. And Ted Kennedy...well, God bless the man for his recent battle with brain cancer...but he really stole the show the other night, and by the media coverage, you would have thought he had been the only speaker on Monday. It's amazing how being immersed in a week-long liberal bubble can really short circuit the memories of the candidates, their supporters and the general public.

For instance, didn't Ted Kennedy kill a young woman back in the 60's because he was driving drunk? And I don't recall him ever serving any jail time. I guess being a Kennedy is a great get-out-of-jail card.

And I think I remember Michelle Obama stating back in February that she was proud of her country for the very first time (interesting...I would say America has treated you very well, Michelle, with your Princeton undergrad and Harvard law educations).

And Joe Biden, I hear you have a whole host of incriminating statements you've made in the past against Barack Obama. How did you wind up as the running mate for Obama? Short memories, I guess...

Hey Hillary, you've pulled a Joe Biden too many times to count during the primary season. It's a wonder you could even stomach your own speech last night. But you pulled through it, and I guess we'll see you in four years when you try to run again for president (oh yeah, it's going to happen folks...you'll see).

So, the DNC and the RNC are the kick-off games for the wild political season we're all about to experience the next couple of months.

Start, you say? Haven't we already been subjected to a wild political season for quite some time now?

Yes. And it's only going to get worse. Pre-season is indeed over, and the regular season is in full swing. So grab your beer and bucket of KFC, because the Superbowl of American politics is right around the corner.

I just hope there's not a wardrobe malfunction during the half time show.