277) Palinoscopy

September 9, 2008
Tuesday

El Milagro: Got here at 4 on the dot and waited until 4:10. I noticed because Celeste the Nurse asks me how long I waited today. She is constantly conscious of my waiting times these days... and that is a good thing. Michelle the Jovial Tech pokes me today. She is fast and painless and I like her a lot... but she isn't around most of the time. They set me up and I set up my radio-earphones-ATC system and settle back for some class prep (reading Saleebey) and making notes for how to compress my more-than-three-hour agenda for Thursday's class and listening to ATC.

I'm also curiously waiting for news about Sarah Palin, the new emissary of the far far right. Last week I had lunch with my dad and he asked what I thought of her... and I had to admit I didn't know much... so I have been paying more attention since then. Paying attention is an interesting concept: because we normally attend to things that we pick out of the myriad of data out in the cosmos. And, we pick out the things to attend to that we identify as worthy of attention, or glittering examples of what we already like and are attracted to. We cannot possibly attend to all the data, so we almost unconsciously select out the data that will fit into our personal, pre-conceived universe of brain pudding. So, what we attend to informs what we think, and what we think informs what we find to attend to. So, when I am out looking for information on Sarah I am finding materials that fit the criteria of "worthy" source data. I personally search for info that is "objective" AND I also know that there are many different perspectives on what is "objective" data... for example; I know that my dad and I have different definitions of "objective". [This is a example of the difference between the Modern and Post-modern world: the dissolution of the idea of Truth with a capitol "T"]. Anyway, my search for info on Sarah takes me to sources that I identify as "objective" like NPR, Snopes, etc. and I also will read most info sources that appear in front of my radar, unless they are fully situated in the realm of the absurdly right wing.

News has it at this point that the Dems, Independents, Libertarians, and even moderate or liberal Republicans may be sufficiently alarmed as to join together to ensure that Palin doesn't get to a position of being "one heartbeat away from the presidency". From what I've read so far, my little brain worries that Palin might be even more dangerous to this country than Bush! She appears to be ten times as smart and way more devious. What do we think of trading a bumbling and stupid neo-con for a shrewdly vicious neo-con? For those who are studying both sides of Palin, read the Debbie Frost mirror image letter and the Kilkenny letter* and make up your own mind. Of course, we must always assume that the people writing these personal diatribes have the best intentions.

More to come!
Notes:

Letters at Snopes, online at http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/sarahpalin.asp