Other Sarah Palin - what's the deal?

All of a sudden, Paris Hilton for President looks good again...

In any case, being able to project power is still very much a military issue, even if the tactics have changed. The US is a superpower not because of its economical influence as much as because it can merrily invade two oil-rich countries halfway across the globe without any real resistance from the rest of the world. I don't see China doing that (yes there's Tibet, but that one lies next door and who gives a rat's ass about a few monks meditating on some mountains?). However it is not just about Big Guns anymore. It is about covert ops, arm-twisting of allies, trade embargos and engineering justification by elevating a disparate bunch of Fundies to an organised global threat. Marketing Apple would be proud of. Don't think in terms of big guns or carriers or jets. A superpower engineers the geopolitical stage on many levels. For that it needs an army, but it also wields economic power and financial influence as a weapon. And a certain isolationist attitude amongst the folks back home is its ammunition.

 

That's going in my sig!

 

very well put, but i might alter it slightly to say a superpower's (in this case the u.s.) army is the weapon of choice for both establishing and maintaining its ecomonic power and financial influence.

as for the sarah palin battle hymn video posted earlier, on another occasion i might have laughed, but instead i felt a mix of concern, queasiness and embarrassment.

 

I don't think so. If Palin becomes president you'll think George Bush II was a birthday present...

 

If Palin became president i doubt she would know where the big red button was.

The UK may not have a active carrier with harriers but the main question is do we need one with the current UK/US relationship, if the Navy just fitted a ski ramp onto HMS Ocean could have 15 harriers on her till the new carriers come into service- she is currently in for a refit before HMS Illustrious is retired in 2014.

Are also going to be working with France to have a carrier at sea at all times, the 2nd new aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales will be built but not even fitted out, will be kept for reserve.

 

You have it backwards. You have the carrier, but no aircraft for her to carry. Likewise the QE and POW are coming along nicely (I assume), but the F-35 that us supposed to fly from them may be dead in the water.

 

You sure you read what i said right?

QE is coming along fine http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-12205253

The F-35 will fly just be late and overbudget need a new fighter and its what has been decided on.

 

the secretary of defense overt here has given Lockheed 2 years to re-design it and has said they may still kill the program off. Like I said before, I doubt they will produce it just for the overseas market if the US military doesn't buy it.

 

I believe this is the article http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110113/pl_afp/usmilitaryaerospacef35_20110113153609

Its only his view that it the program does not deliver that it should be canceled but considering the scale of what the program has to replace in the warplane fleet and the US has put 90% of the funds into the program its going to be a pretty hard loss to swallow.

 

Keep in mind how many ungodly expensive aircraft programs we've canceled in the last few decades without producing anything. There is a reason that the B-52 is still the backbone of the USAF bomber fleet, despite the fact that the last one rolled off the assembly line in 1962. The last KC-135 was produced in 1965, but it's replacement has turned into such a political furball that it may have to remain in service until 2040.

Many of the aircraft in the various branches of the US military are in desperate need of replacement due to their age, but their replacements are either costly failures, political casualties, or turn out to be too expensive to acquire in quantity.

 

Well the F-35 B variant may end up canceled if its design cannot be sorted in 2 years but the A and C variants should go ahead to delivery.

Since the F-35 is ment to be a technological advancement over most fighters the US would want to see it through to delivery- with newer jets theres always going to less of them as they cost more for the technological edge.

 

I have a very hard time taking anybody seriously (when it comes to commitment) when they take a journey through five colleges (taking five years to do it) and only finish with a communications/journalism Bachelor's degree. Both of these are easy majors, and she is only described as an average student who wasn't remembered by any of her professors.

Vacating her governor's job, amid allegations of improprieties, may yield a glimpse of what she is capable of (besides agreeing to run with a political mate with an even worse academic record).

(BTW, John McCain graduated 5th from the bottom of his class.) Both might be considered dolts if it weren't that McCain has a high IQ.

 

I'm not sure that her chosen degree is an indication of her intelligence, nor does McCain's IQ have much to do with being an effective leader. I'm also skeptical of reports that suggest a person should be faulted for not being remembered by professors. Sometimes great people rise from obscurity.

I've posted before about my thoughts on Palin's past. While I don't really begrudge her choice of studies, I do think her tendency to leave when things get tough is an indication of what she might do if faced with the task of running the country.

Interesting that the University of Idaho offered a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism. At my university, journalism is a Bachelor of Arts degree. Not that it amounts to much - it's just an idle curiosity.

 

(Some small colleges attract students they wouldn't normally get if they offer a B.S. instead of a B.A. like most other leading colleges do.)

Such obscurity? She started with a membership in the PTA (Parent Teacher Association) into her advancement in politics starting with winning the election for PTA (Parent Teacher Association) President, of Wasilla, a very small town with a small population.

(Wasilla - city records)

On October 6, 1992, the governing body agreed to the wishes of city council to dispense with a previous resolution that required a 1 year time lag if the Manager Plan of Government is adopted and to adopt same said Manager Plan of Government.

That city council went on to pass a resolution that started a 2% sales tax on retail sales, services and rentals. Use of tax: to be spent to fund a police department; remaining tax to be appropriated through the ordinary public budget process.

As Mayor, she really flubbed (big - time) on a plan to build an indoor skating rink that would be paid for by raising the sales tax another 1/2% to 2 1/2% total.

I really don't think poor planning and glaring oversights, leaving the entire community with a great financial burden when it was very narrowly approved (20 votes) to start with, is very good stewardship or representation. With the community having to pay far more for far less, it's a terrible arrangement - what's worse is the community of Wasilla continues to have legal problems which costs the community even more money.

I don't want an obscure, lack luster, quitter for a back-up president if McCain were to keel over from a heart attack or cancer. Not even for a single moment would I want her to have any direct authority running the nation that I live in.

There are many more anecdotes of Ms Palin's achievments, but I can't waste any more of my time on this. Although, (as a journalist) it was interesting when she was unable to name a single newspaper or publication (that she reads) in a live interview on TV.

 

Strike Palin and insert Bush and change Wasilla to America and that would read the same