wheel lechery...and that darn sarah palin
I have a serious wheel problem. Which is to say I have a serious problem with my desire to purchase wheels.
Weighing all interests (weight, aerodynamics, convenience, cost), I had all but decided on these (Reynolds Assault), which can be had for under 1k, new, on eBay:
But then Reynolds goes and introduces these (Reynolds Strike), which in a few weeks I assume will also be available on eBay for probably around $1100 or $1200:
Nuts. What a decision. What's an indecisive wheel lecher to do?
(The right answer is the Strike.)
...
The vice presidential debate last night...
I don't even know what to say about Sarah Palin. That nails-on-blackboard voice, the persistent folksy colloquialisms ("darn," "heck," "ya," etc.), her blatant refusal to answer questions directed to her... Most commentators seem to agree that she did well in the debate (if only for not doing poorly), but how a rational, thinking person could want her for President of the United States, or anything close to it, is beyond me.
If not on this blog, I've often complained about the strong tenor of anti-intellectualism in the public sphere in general, and in politics in particular, and I can't help but believe that this current of anti-intellectualism has fueled Palin support...or that it is the reality of anti-intellectualism that makes a Palin VP choice even considerable and perhaps strategically sound. In any event, the reality of it angers me and, worse yet, tests my empathy. I want to believe that differences in political opinion are a consequence of reasonable people having reasonable ideological differences (or if not ideological, reasonable differences regarding particulars of practicality), but I question the reasonableness of someone who supports Sara Palin for high office.
(To be clear, I'm not a McCain supporter, but I can acknowledge that reasonable people would prefer McCain leadership to the alternative. It's the Palin component that baffles me so.)
3 comments:
Cami didn't watch the debate but heard a few sound bites the following morning as we drove to Boise and remarked that she didn't like her. Like you, I can't really figure out her appeal for high political office. In the debate she got worked over by Biden who was really, really good.
I do, however, have a co-worker who thinks she is the best thing ever, even making comments about how she should be at the top of the ticket. He is a dedicated Rush fan so perhaps that explains it?
Well, Neil Peart is an amazing drummer, so I'm not so sure what it explains, but I like this discussion.
When our founding fathers deliberated over our constitution, there was much debate about whether or not the general public could be trusted to make appropriate policy decisions. What they believed -- and what I also believe -- is that good information in the hands of good people will lead to the best decisions.
Our founding fathers could not have imagined how short our attention span has been drawn down. We've become awash in information to the point only the brightest and most garish lights can be seen. And we've learned how to make insignificant issues trump important issues so that the electorate is balanced between two otherwise undistinguished choices.
We just need to keep banging our own drum, a drum that beats in rhythm with the beating of our hearts. I won't have someone else telling me what to think.
You have to go watch the SNL spoofs on Palin. They are hillarious!! Go now!! You will laugh so hard...
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