Palin? (redux)

I'm watching Sarah Palin's speech from last night's installment of the Republican Convention. I'm nearly nine minutes in, and every word out of her mouth has made me want to vomit.

Let me sum it up:

I have a family.

Small town folks are good.

I love America.

I'm a hockey mom and a PTA member.

Let's make fun of Barack Obama.

The media is lame and biased.

(There are images of off-shore oil rigs behind her on the stage)

We're not gonna spend a lot of money.

We need to drill for more oil.

Barack is lame.

Some Quotes:

"What exactly is our opponent's plan? What does he actually hope to accomplish, after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet?"

"Al Quaeda terrorists still hope to inflict catastrophic harm on our country, and he's worried that someone won't read 'em their rights."

(I think that I just puked a little bit in my mouth.)

(Somehow the Republicans can actually make it sound like a bad thing to be a good speaker. )

(I can't watch this anymore. I've seen a half hour and I can't take it.)

(Please, please, please tell me that the the people of the United States are not going to vote for these people. They are rabble rousers, appealing to the basest sentiments of our people, slinging mud and turning their "maverick" status into a quality above all others. They are touting their experience as "hockey moms" and POWs as somehow relevant to a political office. I'm scared. I'm really scared.)

Here are a few extra things for the redux, as quoted from Moveon.org

Here are a bunch of points you might want to include in your letter:

Palin recently said that the war in Iraq is "God's task." She's even admitted she hasn't thought about the war much—just last year she was quoted saying, "I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq." 1, 2

Palin has actively sought the support of the fringe Alaska Independence Party. Six months ago, Palin told members of the group—who advocate for a vote on secession from the union—to "keep up the good work" and "wished the party luck on what she called its 'inspiring convention.'" 3

Palin wants to teach creationism in public schools. She hasn't made clear whether she thinks evolution is a fact.4

Palin doesn't believe that humans contribute to global warming. Speaking about climate change, she said, "I'm not one though who would attribute it to being manmade." 5

Palin has close ties to Big Oil. Her inauguration was even sponsored by BP. 6

Palin is extremely anti-choice. She doesn't even support abortion in the case of rape or incest. 7

Palin opposes comprehensive sex-ed in public schools. She's said she will only support abstinence-only approaches. 8

As mayor, Palin tried to ban books from the library. Palin asked the library how she might go about banning books because some had inappropriate language in them—shocking the librarian, Mary Ellen Baker. According to Time, "news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving "full support" to the mayor." 9

She DID support the Bridge to Nowhere (before she opposed it). Palin claimed that she said "thanks, but no thanks" to the infamous Bridge to Nowhere. But in 2006, Palin supported the project repeatedly, saying that Alaska should take advantage of earmarks "while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist." 10