Joe College and the SAT

Can't keep my own resolutions to talk exclusively about Sarah Palin, but there's nothing much to say. And pollsters agree with me--the bounce that Mac received by selecting her as the Veep candidate seems to have evaporated. So let's talk about college admissions instead.

Joe High School figured out that his GPA matters. Surprise, surprise. He also acknowledged that even though he is smart, there might be kids out there just as smart and that taking a look at the SAT prep book could help. So MIT and Cal Tech are probably out of reach for him, but I don't think he's terribly disappointed. What does seem improbable and kind of discouraging is that all the lesser (slightly) schools report that 95% of their students are in the top 5% of their classes and have combined SATs of over 2200. That's scary, and, I trust, not true. Otherwise, they would have no students. We'll see.

Lies by Sarah Palin

Domestic Tranquility is going to stop talking about young adult men and middle age. By comparison to the threat we face, these are piddling concerns. And I love my boys, and I embrace middle age. So, folks, let's instead talk about Sarah Palin.

We're not going to analyze why Mac picked her for the Veep position. We're not going to hash over why he passed over numerous other Republican women who would not shame us or him. Instead, we're going to focus on the facts as I see 'em:

-Fact: Gov. Palin is a woman.
That does not mean that fans of Hilary Clinton should vote for McCain because of Palin's presence on the GOP ticket as the VP candidate. Their shared chromosomes are the only similarity.

-Fact: Gov. Palin has been nominated for vice president.
People should not vote for McCain just because of Sarah Palin. Her chances of becomming president, despite Mac's age and health, are pretty slim. McCain is running for and wants to be president. Sarah Palin is a cute sleight of hand trick to distract you from McCain's failings as a candidate.

-Fact: Gov. Palin says she opposes earmark spending and during her acceptance speech proclaimed that she was an advocate of ending abuses of earmarks.
People who hope to end earmark spending should not vote for McCain because of Gov. Palin's assertions--as late as this year she requested $197 in earmarks from the earmark king, Alaska GOP Sen. Ted Stevens.

-Fact: Gov. Palin says that Barack Obama never authored a major piece of legislation. "Not even in the state senate" quoth the gov.
Don't vote for McCain just because the governor says that the Democrat has not authored any legislation. She's asking us to ignore the Lugar-Obama bill on non-proliferation, or the ethics reform package or the Illinois campaign finance bill, lobbying reform bill and federal campaign finance reform bills.

Although it's tempting to make fun of the governor of Alaska, this is serious stuff. The GOP is trying out their version of the big lie. We know that it works (remember Germany during the 1930s). Don't be fooled into believing something just because it's repeated early and often.