Re: Palin – I thought it Might be This
Read some of the comments from other, not anonymous McCain staffers here.
Similar Posts
Sumerians Witness Creation
ByhenryThis is too funny (from The Onion). HT: Exploring Our Matrix.
Wrong, Wronger, Wrongest
ByhenryIsaac Asimov on The Relativity of Wrong. I found this article extremely helpful in explaining theories and how they develop or are replaced. (HT: Abnormal Interests).
And Now for a Liberal Attack on Free Speech
Byhenry… in the Netherlands.
Sub Ratione Dei on Scot McKnight
ByhenryA good first look at McKnight’s book A Community Called Atonement.
Freedom Not to Invite
ByhenryI think the Nevada Supreme Court got this one right. Freedom of the press must include full freedom to invite or not to invite. I often support candidates with very low ratings at the polls, but there is no legal basis to force their inclusion in any televised debate.
The Opening of ID Season
ByhenryIntelligent Design, that is, in the Florida Legislature. Early details on the Florida Citizens for Science Blog.
I’ve been somewhat dismayed at this brouhaha.
I think Palin was a disaster, and appeared way out of her depth. But on the other hand, some of the recent reports have been over the top. Most specifically, I never considered the “Africa is a country” slur to be at all plausible. The basis for this was only ever third hand innuendo, with no record of context or names for who inferred that Palin was unaware Africa was a continent, or why.
A whole pile of folks who should have known much better jumped on this story at once, apparently willing to believe the worst on the basis of nothing. It was shameful; especially from people who would generally like to think of themselves as part of the “reality based community”… folks who like to think of themselves as rationalists and people who follow evidence and reason. But in a couple of cases that went out the window.
An alternative picture on whether Palin thought Africa was a continent or not is given at ABC news, by Palin staffer Meg Stapleton. Read it here: Palin Aide Fires Back at Reported McCain Camp Slams.
But “she knows it’s a continent,” Stapleton said. “It was just a human mistake, just like Obama saying 57 states. I don’t think anyone ever doubted that Obama knows there are 50 states.”
One can reasonably say we have a “he said, she said” situation. But the onus is most definitely on the anonymous sources who give no detail; and in the absence of better documentation, Stapleton’s story on this is far more credible.
The failure of some allegedly pro-rational bloggers to handle this with more common sense and reason is very disappointing.