That would be like having 44,000 people rally in New York City, 20,800 in LA, or 15,350 in Chicago. (Numbers based on 2005 population numbers from Infoplease and Anchorage population of 260,000.)
You haven't seen any pictures here for a week because my camera went missing last Saturday. The withdrawal symptoms have been severe. So today when Jeremy called to say I should come to Loussac Library I took my Pentax with me.
But I only had two or three pictures left on the film and there wasn't any more film.
Sometimes whining pays off. Scott took out his digital camera and gave it to me so you could see that not all Alaskans are enamored by the idea of our governor becoming the vice president. Thanks Scott.
But two of the pictures are from my Pentax. Can you tell which ones? I think the quality of those two is significantly better, but I also know which ones they were so I can't tell if I was just biased.
Afterward, we went to Costco to develop the film and to get a new digital camera. I got a Canon Power Shot SD790IS. (The old one was a 550). They've changed the controls and it's driving me crazy. The symbols are on the screen, but I can't always figure out how to get to them. It's like being just on the other side of the window. I can see the mango and sticky rice, but I can't reach it. But I'll learn.
If you've ever been on the Lanie Fleischer bike trail (the sign's by Goose Lake), well it was named after this woman who helped get our great bike trail system from dream to reality. A savvy Alaskan woman who knows how to make things happen, against the odds, (not someone who was at the right place at the right time). 
But as much as I admire her, I don't think she's qualified to be Vice President either. But if Obama had picked her as his VP, she would be speaking her words to the media and wouldn't be locked away from all but one or two chosen outlets. If they tried to change her into Obama's attack dog, she'd have told them to take a hike.(bike?)
This sign might not make sense to people not up on all the Palin trivia. This is not about giving rapists free kits. But rather rape victims, free medical kits. This was the state of things in Alaska before Sarah Palin was elected Mayor of Wasilla. After, the budget for helping rape victims was cut and they were billed for the rape kits used for testing. The state legislature had to pass a new law making free kits mandatory, yet Palin's newly appointed police chief still moaned and groaned that the City shouldn't have to pay.
Obviously, McCain's pick of Palin has had the great benefit for McCain of moving the attention from McCain and from the issues and onto Palin. Why do we have to have a demonstration against a vice presidential candidate? We should be demonstrating for fair health care. For intelligent foreign policy that promotes freedom and prosperity. For protecting the environment. For good schools, energy sustainability, and civility and peace at home as well as abroad. But McCain now has his sideshow attraction that brings in the crowds so he can stand in the background.
I'm waiting for the announcement that McCain and Palin are going to switch places on the Republican ticket to reflect their true popularity among the so-called Republican base.
[Sunday, September 14 update: Philip at Progressive Alaska has more pictures and links to several other blogs with pictures. Below are two more pictures that I accidentally cut out yesterday.]
I asked these guys about Palin's foreign policy experience and suggested that she'd never met with a foreign leader or even spoke another language. They told me she speaks AMERICAN and that's all she needs.
Some of the boards are really funny. Alaskans have good sense of humour in my eyes.
ReplyDeleteThis is one New Yorker who thought the "NYE" was really very funny, and got the point across. Also, I loved the signs. From reading the New York Times cover story today, it seems like your governor may have used a state employee for childcare. In our state, using government employees as household help gets you indicted (as well as having to resign).
ReplyDeleteThere is a great e-action campaign on The Point that bridges on and offline (sort of) activism by having folks online pay for an advertisement (anti-Palin) off:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thepoint.com/campaigns/fight-back-broadcast-the-truth-about-sarah-palin
"That would be like having 44,000 people rally in New York City, 20,800 in LA, or 15,350 in Chicago."
ReplyDeleteIn other words, a pretty pitiful turnout.
Oh by the way, you Obamaphytes might want to keep quiet about candidates not speaking another language. Remember this? "You need to make sure your child can speak Spanish." Barack Obama, 7/8/08
Followed by this: “I don't speak a foreign language. It's embarrassing!” Barack Obama, 7/11/08
Hiya more signs here: http://laurainak.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteone assumes they don't want to give out free rape kits because in a religious fundamentalist kinda way... it's all the women's fault anyway so why should they! eejits!
ReplyDeletei was going to leave a very facetious sarcastic comment as is my want, but people would probable have misread it and thought i was in agreement with making women pay for the kits etc which i am NOT, so i stuck with the simple comment version.. i must be slipping
James, I guess the size of the crowd is in the eye of the beholder. 44,000 people at a protest rally would get people's attention even in NY - remember crowds in NY and LA usually have people coming from other places. These were mainly Anchorage folks.
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point on language - actually I'm not sure of Obama's linguistic abilities. But assuming you are right, it's a weakness. Not because he would use another language to negotiate with. English is the international language and for high level negotiations it is either done in English or with translators.
However, learning another language helps you understand another culture. You learn concepts that don't exist in English and the language itself requires one to think differently.
At least Obama has lived in different countries and different states in the US. To my knowledge, Sarah Palin's lived in Alaska and went to school in Idaho. That's not much perspective. Don't get me wrong, I think she's a reasonably smart person, but I want someone who already knows things in depth, not someone cramming as she goes along.
Mirk, At this point I have no idea what stuff is out in the mainstream media and what is still local. Basically, when Palin was Mayor of Wasilla, she fired the old police chief who'd started a rape response program that included kits that took medical evidence. The chief she appointed cut the budget for rape kits and billed victims for them. Palin had to know this was going on. It was unique in the state and and when requests to change the practice were rebuffed, the legislature passed a bill making it illegal to bill the victim simply because Wasilla wouldn't comply.
The rape kits, I'm told by someone who's been on a rape response team, include the equivalent of 'morning after pills' which pro-life groups see as a form of abortion.
Trying to stop the city paying for something that could be seen as abortion is probably the reasoning behind this move, and would be consistent with Palin's strong anti-abortion stand. Of course, there are more creative ways to do this - like to just charge for the pills.
The ADN gives the basic story.