As some of you may know, I am a huge fan of dogsled racing and hope one day to race a team of my own. For now, though, I am happy to follow some of my favorite racers. Here is a great clip of Lance Mackey - who won the Yukon Quest and Iditarod back to back two years in a row. He is also a cancer survivor and just an all around fun to watch guy.
I knew I liked Lance Mackey when I read a news story about him before the 2007 Iditarod. He had just won the Quest for the first time and hadn’t yet received his winnings. His truck broke down on the way to Iditarod (The quest ends in Fairbanks and then the Iditarod starts two-ish weeks later in Anchorage) and he and his dogs had to hitch a ride to Anchorage to start the race. It not only sounded just like something that would happen to me, but as an avid fan, I grew a little weary of seeing “big” name mushers with “big” money always winning. It was nice to just see a guy with a dream (if you don’t mind a little cheese in my post!).
Anyway, here’s Lance on Conan, courtesy of YouTube.com. And for those of you with TV, please check out the show on the Discovery Channel Tuesday night. I’ll be wishing I could see it (I don’t have TV) and will hope they will put it on the Internet soon!
OK – let me set a few things straight right from the beginning.
1. I am a die-hard Democrat. Always have been. I was born with a blue tongue…
2. I liked John McCain. I did. I thought, for a while, that of all the Republicans, he was the one I could have dealt with the most.
3. I wanted to like Sarah Palin. I did. I tried. Really Hard. I swear.
But I can’t do it. I can’t like her. I even got mad at Maureen Dowd – one of my favorite writers – because I thought she was being a little too harsh on her in the beginning.
You’ve probably already seen this – but I hadn’t until this morning…no TV, only Internet! Quite possible the funniest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Even if you’ve seen it, know that I’m putting it on my blog, just so I can keep it forever!
I’m sure I won’t vote for Gov. Palin (oh yeah, and John McCain) but I sure do like her a lot when I hear stuff like this:
“To any critics who say a woman can’t think and work and carry a baby at the same time,” she [Palin] said, “I’d just like to escort that Neanderthal back to the cave.”
I might not agree with her on everything, but on this I most certainly do!
I went to the Laundromat for the afternoon and I come back to hear that Bristol Palin is pregnant and is marrying the baby’s father. All I can say is “Wow.”
This is what Senator Obama had to say to Fox News: “I have heard some of the news on this and so let me be a clear as possible: I have said before and I will repeat again, I think people’s families are off limits, and people’s children are especially off limits. This shouldn’t be part of our politics,” the Democrat said forcefully. “It has no relevance to Governor Palin’s performance as governor, or her potential performance as a VP. And so I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories,” he continued.
The candidate who himself was born to a teenage mom, reminded reporters, “You know my mother had me when she was 18, and how a family deals with issues and you know teenage children, that shouldn’t be the topic of our politics and I hope that anybody who is supporting me understands that’s off limits.”
Good for Senator Obama. And good for Governor Palin for getting ahead of it – I had read some of those rumors that Trig (the Governor’s fifth son) was actually Bristol’s and didn’t believe it.
I have a lot of issues to consider when deciding for whom I will vote this November, but whether or not Bristol Palin is pregnant is not one of them. I do, however, applaud the family for being supportive of her – and not shunning her in an effort to promote her mother’s campaign and make everything “look nice.”
Good luck to Bristol – she is embarking on a wonderful and frightening adventure. I’d recommend she read some Ariel Gore!
“We may be seeing the first woman president. As a Democrat, I am reeling,” said Camille Paglia, the cultural critic. “That was the best political speech I have ever seen delivered by an American woman politician. Palin is as tough as nails.”
OK – not in a creepy way, just in a “read all I can about her way.” Because I really, really want to like her. Maureen Dowd - usually one of my favorite columnists – really hacked me off this morning too. Because while I appreciate her humor in the face of truth, I also believe that picking on what a woman names her children is just getting snippy. I have a feeling that while Sarah Palin was always the most popular girl in school – Maureen Dowd might have been the girl in the corner, scribbling her thoughts in her slambook. At least – that’s what it felt like this morning.
This is one of the main reasons I feel we may never have a female president. Because women are too hell-bent on tearing each other down – no matter what their views. Wouldn’t it have been great if Dowd could have at least given Palin a pat on the back for getting this far, before ripping her to shreds?
Anyway, in my own search for truth in politics (no, really, I’m trying not to laugh while I type), I have been enjoying the multitude of stories on the Internet about Palin. I have always wanted to live in Alaska and this just gives me a little more fodder.
OK. I’ve had to amend a post I made yesterday. I was, initially excited about Governor Palin’s selection as the VP candidate from the GOP. You see, I am conservative in many ways. I am pro-life. I am for smaller government (just like Thomas Jefferson). I am fine with hunters owning rifles (I shot tin cans with a .22 once, it was kinda fun). I am fine with leather and fur…especially in contrast to petroleum-based synthetics. I believe that subsistence hunters and trappers have the right to make a living and clothe and feed their families. I also like to ride a snowmobile once in a while.
Please click here to download the plugin required to make recent comments work!