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	<title>Explorations &#187; Politics</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/category/politics/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.jericsmall.com/blog</link>
	<description>Musings, discoveries, and other tidbits of life as Eric Small</description>
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		<title>Going Rogue, 3 Pages at a Time: 16-18</title>
		<link>http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/2009/12/27/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-16-18</link>
		<comments>http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/2009/12/27/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-16-18#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Dec 2009 06:28:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Small</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Diversions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book report]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Going Rogue]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sarah Palin]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/?p=385</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In which Sarah compares her daughter to cabbage.
Enough said.
On to page 19.
Back to pages 13-15
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In which Sarah compares her daughter to cabbage.</p>
<p>Enough said.</p>
<p>On to page 19.</p>
<p><br clear="all"/><span style="float:left;"><a href="/blog/2009/12/27/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-13-15" style="float:left;"><i>Back to pages 13-15</i></a></span><!--span style="float:right;"><a href="/blog/2009/12/24/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-7-9"><i>Forward to pages 4-6</i></a></span --><br clear="all"/></p>
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		<title>Going Rogue, 3 Pages at a Time: 13-15</title>
		<link>http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/2009/12/27/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-13-15</link>
		<comments>http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/2009/12/27/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-13-15#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 27 Dec 2009 07:00:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Small</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Diversions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Going Rogue]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sarah Palin]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/?p=379</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Wow.  Sarah knows history.  And seems to represent here that she considers some of them as local heros &#8212; her heroes.  Amazing that her ghost writer studied up on Alaska history, because we know Sarah didn&#8217;t.  She couldn&#8217;t even study up for an interview with Katie Couric so how are we [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Wow.  Sarah knows history.  And seems to represent here that she considers some of them as local heros &mdash; her heroes.  Amazing that her ghost writer studied up on Alaska history, because we know Sarah didn&#8217;t.  She couldn&#8217;t even study up for an interview with Katie Couric so how are we to believe she studied in her youth.  ;-)</p>
<p>In any case, Sarah became an Alaskan.  </p>
<p>And learned to read.</p>
<p>Wow.</p>
<p>Slow going to page 15.</p>
<p><br clear="all"/><span style="float:left;"><a href="/blog/2009/12/25/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-10-12" style="float:left;"><i>Back to pages 10-12</i></a></span><span style="float:right;"><a href="/blog/2009/12/27/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-16-18"><i>Forward to pages 16-18</i></a></span><br clear="all"/></p>
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		<title>Going Rogue, 3 Pages at a Time: 10-12</title>
		<link>http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/2009/12/25/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-10-12</link>
		<comments>http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/2009/12/25/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-10-12#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 26 Dec 2009 06:02:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Small</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Diversions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[analysis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Going Rogue]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[growing up]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sarah Palin]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/?p=374</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In today&#8217;s installment, we learn that Sarah&#8217;s family is just like our own family &#8212; dysfunctional but scrappy.  From her parents, Sarah learned a rugged independence: each person was ultimately in control of his or her own destiny.
Basically, at least from an upbringing standpoint, Sarah was pretty normal.  It&#8217;s pretty clear where she [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In today&#8217;s installment, we learn that Sarah&#8217;s family is just like our own family &mdash; dysfunctional but scrappy.  From her parents, Sarah learned a rugged independence: each person was ultimately in control of his or her own destiny.</p>
<p>Basically, at least from an upbringing standpoint, Sarah was pretty normal.  It&#8217;s pretty clear where she got her spirit of political activism.  And to some degree its evident how that activism was bent towards the go-it-alone (vs. communal) brand.  Sarah appears at this point in the book to take more after her dad than her mom, but of course influences exist from both DNA lines.</p>
<p>The only real <em>funny</em> in this section was the oh-so-not inadvertent name dropping of Ronald Reagan (again), this time in reference to a family member.  It seems she&#8217;s hellbent on making sure you get it&#8230;Sarah is a Reaganite.</p>
<p>Thus concludes page 12.</p>
<p><br clear="all"/><span style="float:left;"><a href="/blog/2009/12/24/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-7-9" style="float:left;"><i>Back to pages 7-9</i></a></span><span style="float:right;"><a href="/blog/2009/12/27/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-13-15"><i>Forward to pages 13-15</i></a></span><br clear="all"/></p>
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		<title>Going Rogue, 3 Pages at a Time: 7-9</title>
		<link>http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/2009/12/24/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-7-9</link>
		<comments>http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/2009/12/24/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-7-9#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Dec 2009 22:43:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Small</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Diversions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alaska]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[analysis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Going Rogue]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sarah Palin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Skagway]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/?p=359</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Of course this is a memoir/autobiography, so it is apparently time to explore the beginning of the story for a bit.
 The first thing we&#8217;re told is that Sarah&#8217;s arrival in Alaska was foreshadowed by a massive disaster, an unprecedented 9.2 earthquake, on record at the time as the largest in North American history. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Broadway_Avenue_in_Skagway%2C_Summer_2006.jpg/450px-Broadway_Avenue_in_Skagway%2C_Summer_2006.jpg" style="width:150px; height:200px; float:left;" alt="Skagway, AK, childhood home of Sarah Palin"> Of course this is a memoir/autobiography, so it is apparently time to explore the beginning of the story for a bit.</p>
<p> The first thing we&#8217;re told is that Sarah&#8217;s arrival in Alaska was foreshadowed by a massive disaster, an unprecedented 9.2 earthquake, on record at the time as the largest in North American history. It&#8217;s quite possible that Alaska was shaking in fear of the climate disaster yet to come (and yet to be generally ignored by Ms. Palin).</p>
<p>Regardless, we do learn one key fact about the young Sarah: she&#8217;s very independent-minded; a free spirit if you will.  She attempts to fly and stubbornly refuses to accept the alphabet as is.  And because its small town Alaska, she&#8217;s even allowed to walk the town alone at age four.</p>
<p>Of course in flying and (presumably) alphabet penmanship she eventually conforms.</p>
<p>But that&#8217;s all we know for now, because that&#8217;s page 9.</p>
<p><br clear="all"/><span style="float:left;"><a href="/blog/2009/12/23/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-4-6" style="float:left;"><i>Back to pages 4-6</i></a></span><span style="float:right;"><a href="/blog/2009/12/25/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-10-12"><i>Forward to pages 10-12</i></a></span><br clear="all"/></p>
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		<title>Going Rogue, 3 Pages at a Time: 4-6</title>
		<link>http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/2009/12/23/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-4-6</link>
		<comments>http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/2009/12/23/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-4-6#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:44:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Small</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Diversions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA["the call"]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[analysis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Going Rogue]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[governorship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sarah Palin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wasilla]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/?p=349</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Alas(ka), Sarah and Reagan did save the country!  Oh, well, no.  But she did run for city council and mayor of her home town, Wasilla, AK.  Wasilla: a town about the size of Bartonville, IL, my home town.  A town the size of a single fire house and a coupla cop [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Alas<span style="font-size: 6px;">(ka)</span>, Sarah and Reagan did save the country!  Oh, well, no.  But she did run for city council and mayor of her home town, Wasilla, AK.  Wasilla: a town about the size of Bartonville, IL, my home town.  A town the size of a single fire house and a coupla cop cars.  A town where putting up a stop light is big-time mayoral business.  Where repairing a sidewalk was tricky politics (for the question is raised, why not my sidewalk?). A town where&#8230;well, you get my point.</p>
<p>But for Sarah, Wasilla was her stepping stone.  She would take on Juneau and the Big Oil monsters — from the comfort of Big Oil&#8217;s economic development post.  From there, the governorship!  She could tear through the political barriers and break down the corrupt back-room deals.  Or maybe she simply had no idea what she was doing?</p>
<p>Anyway, back to the fair.  That&#8217;s what&#8217;s important after all.</p>
<p>Oops, no, whiplash!  Back to politics, that&#8217;s what&#8217;s important after all.</p>
<p>She did GREAT!  She pissed off nearly everyone along the way, but that only showed she was good.  Well, and the 88 approval ratings.  Perhaps she was actually pleasing the public and doing right.  Then the call came.  And everything changed.</p>
<p>Thus we finish page 6.</p>
<p><br clear="all"/><span style="float:left;"><a href="/blog/2009/12/22/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-1-3" style="float:left;"><i>Back to pages 1-3</i></a></span><span style="float:right;"><a href="/blog/2009/12/24/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-7-9"><i>Forward to pages 7-9</i></a></span><br clear="all"/></p>
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		<title>Going Rogue, 3 Pages at a Time: 1-3</title>
		<link>http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/2009/12/22/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-1-3</link>
		<comments>http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/2009/12/22/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-1-3#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2009 06:52:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Small</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Diversions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[analysis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Going Rogue]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sarah Palin]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/?p=346</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So Sarah is the average mom. No, no; a good mom.  She takes her kids to the state fair, and lets them be kids.  The older child gets her space, while the younger one gets maternal protection and ego stroking.  Somewhere along the way motherhood takes a momentary break to remind the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>So Sarah is the average mom. No, no; a good mom.  She takes her kids to the state fair, and lets them be kids.  The older child gets her space, while the younger one gets maternal protection and ego stroking.  Somewhere along the way motherhood takes a momentary break to remind the reader how &#8220;Drill, baby, drill&#8221; should be America&#8217;s motto.  Another moment slips away in disgust at the pro-choice among the reading audience.  Shame on those that would see her daughter aborted instead of wandering by her side.  Never-ye-mind that choice means &#8230; choice.  The old ladies have it right instead.  </p>
<p>It seems that America has lost its way through the political machine of Washington, D.C.  </p>
<p>But perhaps Sarah and Ronald Reagan can fix it all?</p>
<p>We&#8217;ll have to see next time, for that&#8217;s page 3.</p>
<p><br clear="all"/><span style="float:right;"><a href="/blog/2009/12/23/going-rogue-3-pages-at-a-time-4-6"><i>Forward to pages 4-6</i></a></span><br clear="all"/></p>
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		<title>1984, second read, done</title>
		<link>http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/2009/09/06/1984-second-read-done</link>
		<comments>http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/2009/09/06/1984-second-read-done#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 06 Sep 2009 20:32:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Small</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Diversions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[1984]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[books]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/?p=326</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[What is interesting is how easily a democracy can be fooled. In actuality, it seems, the United States is actually an oligarchy.  The corporations and others with wealth or power herd the masses in the direction of their choosing. ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Just finished the <a href="http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/">Orwell</a> classic, <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=yxv1LK5gyV4C&#038;dq=George+Orwell+1984&#038;printsec=frontcover&#038;source=bl&#038;ots=ol93yd2TQ8&#038;sig=FIADFuR5CqBOV_O0VNAC3WCMtnc&#038;hl=en&#038;ei=bn6kSoKpHou4swOArvyMDw&#038;sa=X&#038;oi=book_result&#038;ct=result&#038;resnum=6">1984</a>, for the second time.  Love it even still, and especially interesting to read whilst so much is being made about Obama and his &#8220;socialist agenda&#8221;.  Of course, 1984 isn&#8217;t really about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism">socialism</a> vs. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism">capitalism</a> at all.  If anything it&#8217;s about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligarchy">oligarchy</a> versus <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy">democracy</a>.  But even that is hardly of interest in today&#8217;s political climate.  </p>
<p>What is interesting is how easily a democracy can be fooled.  The great masses in today&#8217;s United States democracy are vaguely aware of how little power they wield.  In actuality, it seems, the United States is actually an oligarchy.  The corporations and others with wealth or power herd the masses in the direction of their choosing.  Today this is evident under the leadership of the right and left wing nuts that are derailing any reasonable discussion around health care reform.  The right have created terms such a &#8220;<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/14/health/policy/14panel.html">death panels</a>&#8221; while the left insist any program without a single-payer system is corrupt.  In the middle, the herds dutifully shift left or right and ultimately no one is left for common discourse.</p>
<p>Newspeak is alive and well but not quite in the form the adherents of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx6oczHss24">Ingsoc</a> imagined.  </p>
<p>-Eric Small, literary deconstrutionist</p>
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		<title>Letter to my Congress representative</title>
		<link>http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/2009/08/08/letter-to-my-congress-representative</link>
		<comments>http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/2009/08/08/letter-to-my-congress-representative#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 09 Aug 2009 02:25:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Small</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.jericsmall.com/blog/?p=319</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dear Mr. Waxman &#8211;
I simply wanted to register my opinion as a supporter of significant health care reform.  In particular, I firmly believe that all Americans must be covered by any course of action, and that no American should be denied reasonable health care available to any others due to pre-existing conditions.
Because the health [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Dear Mr. Waxman &#8211;</p>
<p>I simply wanted to register my opinion as a supporter of significant health care reform.  In particular, I firmly believe that all Americans must be covered by any course of action, and that no American should be denied reasonable health care available to any others due to pre-existing conditions.</p>
<p>Because the health care industry has failed to accomplish this goal through the free enterprise system, I also believe a protective, government-provided insurance option would be prudent.  No longer should nameless bureaucrats at giant insurance companies decide if my condition is worthy of treatment.  No longer should they decide they&#8217;ve paid enough.  No longer should keeping Americans unhealthy support their bottom line.</p>
<p>We all deserve better, regardless of our condition and our position in this great nation.  Please know, and let your colleagues know, that there is ample support for reform.  It&#8217;s time to make our nation even greater.  </p>
<p>Sincerely, </p>
<p>-Eric Small<br />
-West Hollywood, CA</p>
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