The Honourable VP Hockey Mom -- I'm Gabberflasted, Are You Gabberflasted too?

Over on the Angry Bear blog, there's a thread discussing McCain's VP choice, Alaska governor Sarah Palin.

With an utter lack of shame, I have hoisted this from the comments. It is, of course, mine. --NM
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This choice, seen as a serious attempt to fill an important team position, is decidedly odd. Forget her gender -- there are mayors of medium sized towns who would be vastly better suited for the role, and more experienced, than Palin is. I'm thinking of our last Winnipeg mayor, who legitimately took his mayorhood to the level of statesmanship.

But under another lens, this choice is exactly to the pattern pursued over the past eight years by Rove, Cheney & Co -- a pattern of placing, or trying to place, manifestly unsuitable candidates in pivotal positions. FISA Brownie ring a bell? Alberto Gonzales, Monica Goodling, Dr. Susan Orr, William Wehrum, Hans von Spakovsky, John Bolton and don't forget Paul Wolfowitz at the World Bank (that really worked out well).

And then there are the ones who aren't as familiar. How about George Deutsch, briefly a press officer at NASA. Deutsch, 24, had worked in the Bush/Cheney 2004 campaign "War Room", and was appointed to the NASA position by Bush in 2005.

Like others we have heard of in Bush-influenced science/PR positions, he tried to blur the science and insert religion, as in an e-mail telling a NASA web designer to add the word "theory" after every mention of the Big Bang, saying the Big Bang is "not proven fact; it is opinion... It is not NASA's place ... to make a declaration such as this about the existence of the universe that discounts intelligent design by a creator..." He finally got the boot because his résumé falsely said he had a B.A. in journalism.

These questionable appointments started early. In March 2001, only 60 days into Bush's first term, they caught the attention of the Washington Post. They detailed Bush's appointment of Iran-Contra veterans to key posts -- naming Elliot Abrams, John Negroponte and Otto Reich. None of those guys is clueless, but they're none the better for that.

The pattern seems to be either clueless appointees or lawless ones. I would not be surprised if this VP was a one-two deal -- clueless Palin first as a placeholder, and then in October, after a *sob sob* family emergency, a Rovian or Cheynesque ringer lined up to step into Palin's place.

"Skew"-ered. Are you prepared for the big one Mrs. Cleaver?

It would seem that only 4 percent of us have the kind of safety kit that Public Safety Canada thinks we should have. That would be the same PSC over which story-teller Stockwell Day hovers.

Apparently the reason for our negligence has been identified. So, PSC is going to target the one group who hasn't responded.

The "Is Your Family Prepared" campaign, launched in the fall of 2006, is being tweaked this year in an attempt to convince more people to have a fully stocked emergency kit in their homes, according to a new request for proposals issued by Public Safety Canada.

"Only four per cent of Canadians have all the kit contents that PSC asks for as a basic kit," reads the request.

"The plurality of (opinion poll) respondents still think that they only need to be prepared for 24 hours."

The government is looking for outside help to run the upcoming phase of the campaign, which will include $2.1 million in ads over 12 months. It will target "parents, with a skew toward women" in the middle income and age brackets, with the message that "if you don't prepare yourself or your family for an emergency, you are placing at risk the lives or well-being of your family," the documents say. (Emphasis mine)

A skew towards women? That's an outward and blatant blame-game.

Women, make sure you get the meaning of this. You belong at home. When disaster strikes, you are expected to have everything ready because if you don't you have failed the system; you have failed Stockie; and you have failed your family.

If disaster strikes when you're out shopping or (gawd forbid) at your little job, you will be expected to rush home and deploy the supplies. It is your domain. You are responsible for house, home and children.

Men, you will finish your beer. Put all thoughts of home out of your head. You will not worry about the children. (Hell, you don't care about them anyway, right?). Rescue. You will do rescue, and fight fires, and manly stuff. They'll be wanting the sandbags and chainsaw in the back of your pick-up. When you do get home, your woman will have things under control. You just pull out the unregistered 30.06 and get ready to hold off the marauding hordes of young single folk who never got the word.

Thanks... I think... to a very pissed-off Cheryl for the tip.