Eve Ensler on Sarah Palin

By Eve Ensler



Eve Ensler, the American playwright, performer, feminist and activist best known for "The Vagina Monologues", wrote the following about Sarah Palin.

Drill, Drill, Drill



I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she was a member of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the claws of drowned and starved polar bears around their necks. I have a particular thing for Polar Bears. Maybe it's their snowy whiteness or their bigness or the fact that they live in the arctic or that I have never seen one in person or touched one. Maybe it is the fact that they live so comfortably on ice. Whatever it is, I need the polar bears.



I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people who made this choice count on the goodness and solidarity of Feminists.



But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical to Feminism which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence and war.


I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous choices of my lifetime, and should this country chose those candidates the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in so many areas that America may never recover. But what is equally disturbing is the impact that duo would have on the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this is not a joke. In my lifetime I have seen the clownish, the inept, the bizarre be elected to the presidency with regularity.



Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor. In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting of the arctic, the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God."



Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will should have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or not.



She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many babies that makes.



Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking. >From what I gather she has tried to ban books from the library, has a tendency to dispense with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who could and might very well be the next president of the United States. She would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.



Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot hundreds of wolves from the air.



Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in his name, that is the end of separation of church and state and the undoing of everything America has ever tried to be.




I write to my sisters. I write because I believe we hold this election in our hands. This vote is a vote that will determine the future not just of the U.S., but of the planet. It will determine whether we create policies to save the earth or make it forever uninhabitable for humans. It will determine whether we move towards dialogue and diplomacy in the world or whether we escalate violence through invasion, undermining and attack. It will determine whether we go for oil, strip mining, coal burning or invest our money in alternatives that will free us from dependency and destruction. It will determine if money gets spent on education and healthcare or whether we build more and more methods of killing. It will determine whether America is a free open tolerant society or a closed place of fear, fundamentalism and aggression.



If the Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the hall after Palin spoke at the RNC, "Drill Drill Drill." I think of teeth when I think of drills. I think of rape. I think of destruction. I think of domination. I think of military exercises that force mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis, doubt, ambiguity or dissent. I think of pain.



Do we want a future of drilling? More holes in the ozone, in the floor of the sea, more holes in our thinking, in the trust between nations and peoples, more holes in the fabric of this precious thing we call life?






Eve Ensler

September 5, 2008

Palin: Ostrich Puts Head in the Sand

"I thought it was hilarious. I thought she was spot on. Didn't hear a word she said, but the visual, spot on."

--Sarah Palin,, who admits that she watched Tina Fey impersonate her on "Saturday Night Live" — but only with the volume turned off.

What else do you think she might refuse to listen to or lie about?

Bush One and Bush Two

"You know, it was once said of the first George Bush that he was born on third base and thought he’d hit a triple.

Well, with the 22 million new jobs and the budget surplus Bill Clinton left behind, George W. Bush came into office on third base and then he stole second. And John McCain cheered him every step of the way."

--Ted Strickland, Governor of Ohio, speaking at the Democratic National Convention.

Listen to the Issues, Ignore the Media and the Hype

“Our nation is in trouble on two fronts. The American dream is under siege at home, and America’s leadership in the world has been weakened. Middle-class and low-income Americans are hurting — with incomes declining; job losses, poverty and inequality rising; mortgage foreclosures and credit card debt increasing; health care coverage disappearing; and a very big spike in the cost of food, utilities and gasoline.

“And our position in the world has been weakened by too much unilateralism and too little cooperation, by a perilous dependence on imported oil, by a refusal to lead on global warming, by a growing indebtedness and a dependence on foreign lenders, by a severely burdened military, by a backsliding on global nonproliferation and arms control agreements, and by a failure to consistently use the power of diplomacy, from the Middle East to Africa to Latin America to Central and Eastern Europe.”

--Bill Clinton.

Sarah Palin: A Great Choice (Until You Look Below the Surface)

“I don’t think a Hillary person would ever move to her, based on the issues. I don’t think before today I would have ever heard someone call her a feminist.”

--Jean Craciun, a strategic research and planning consultant in Alaska who has done political polling for Democrats and Republicans.

2008 Election: Presidential Leadership Competencies, A Scorecard

Leadership: A leader exhibits behavior that 1) defines reality; 2) makes others believe in themselves; and, 3) applies leadership competencies to successfully execute a strategy.

In the business world, developing a competency model for the selection of a CEO is a best practice and standard operating procedure for many successful companies.

If we use a behavioral template as criteria for selecting a president, how would our presidential candidates compare? Read the characteristics below carefully and rate each of the candidates objectively. Though obviously open for discussion, I have rated the winner in each competency based on my observations of each in action. (x)

The Presidential Leadership Competencies are listed below:

· VISIONING (x- Advantage Obama)
Takes a long-term view and acts as a catalyst for change; builds a shared vision with others; influences others to translates vision into action; creates a compelling and inspirational picture of the future

· ACTS WITH INTEGRITY (x- Advantage Obama)
Fosters high standards for ethical behavior; behaves in a fair and ethical manner towards others; demonstrates high political and professional standards; handles situations with integrity; viewed as highly trustworthy; stands up for what is right despite potential personal consequences; demonstrates consistency between words and actions; honors commitments to others

· ACCOUNTABILITY (x- Advantage Obama)
Holds self and others accountable for laws, policies, rules and responsibilities; can be relied upon to ensure that issues within areas of responsibility are completed in a relevant and timely manner and within budget; sets high standards for self and others; assigns clear accountability backed by appropriate authority

· GETS RESULTS (x- Advantage Obama)
Achieves strategic goals; delivers measurable results, on time and within budget; translate(s ideas into concrete actions; champions initiatives beyond the scope of one’s job; mobilizes resources and removes barriers for success; anticipates potential problems and develops contingency plans to overcome them; works across political and organizational boundaries, avoiding turf issues, and eliminating unnecessary work to achieve the desired results; concentrates on outcomes rather than activities

· IDENTIFIES AND DEVELOPS TALENT (x- Advantage Obama)
Inspires, fosters, and develops leadership in others through coaching, mentoring, rewarding and guiding those under him/her; develops successors and talent pools for key positions

· TAKES INITIATIVE/RISK-TAKING (x- Advantage Obama)
Creates an environment that encourages creative thinking; designs and implements new or cutting-edge programs/processes; challenges the status quo; recognizes opportunities and takes action to achieve objectives; empowers others to take risks, supports them when things go wrong and encourages them to learn from set-backs and failures

· CHANGE MANAGEMENT (x- Advantage Obama)
Understands process and issues inherent in change management and plans accordingly; instills confidence and trust in others; coordinates resources; evaluates measures, project plans and deliverables for strategic alignment; acknowledges individual’s responses to change and helps them adjust; Adapts unit goals and work plans in response to internal and external forces that will impact the future effectiveness of the unit

· THINKING SKILLS (x- Advantage Obama)
Identifies and integrates the critical elements of a situation, making correct inferences from data; breaks complex problems into component parts and organizes the parts in a systematic way; uses innovation to develop novel solutions; can explain to others how to understand and approach complicated problems

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Knowledge/Political Acumen: Applies resources, constituency needs, and processes to make sound strategic and business decisions.

· STRATEGIC THINKING AND PLANNING (x- Advantage Obama)
Formulates effective strategies consistent with the needs of the nation; sees the big picture and holds a long-term perspective; determines objectives and sets priorities; anticipates potential threats or opportunities; aligns people to support organizational goals; drives the execution of strategic plans and monitors results

· MANAGES RESOURCES (x- Advantage Obama)
Assesses current and future staffing needs based on organizational goals and budget realties; ensures staff are appropriately selected, developed, utilized, appraised and rewarded; readily shares resources to support political initiatives; understands key financial indicators; uses cost-benefit thinking to set priorities; integrates technology into the workplace to improve effectiveness and efficiency; understands the impact of technological changes on the organization

· PROFESSIONAL AND POLITICAL KNOWLEDGE (x- Advantage Obama)
Continually enhances knowledge and skills to keep abreast of global changes, developments and emerging issues; understands what it takes to be successful; has a thorough knowledge of the nation’s mission, history, and constituencies

· PROBLEM SOLVING/DECISION MAKING (x- Advantage Obama)
Develops new insights into situations and applies innovative solutions to make improvements; exercises good judgment by making sound and well-informed decisions; is proactive; distinguishes between relevant and irrelevant information to make logical decisions; effectively analyzes potential for risk and acts decisively; makes breakthrough decisions based upon a mixture of analysis, wisdom, experience and judgment; solicits input from individuals who can add significant value to the decision-making process

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Builds Relationships/Communication: Cultivates effective relationships to create a culture that supports the national goals and strategy.

· INFLUENCING SKILLS (x- Advantage Obama)
Builds coalitions through give and take; gains cooperation from others to obtain information and accomplish goals; collaborates across boundaries; recognizes which battles are worth fighting for and when it is time to compromise; seeks to build internal and external partnerships to better accomplish goals; invites other points of view; anticipates the reactions and objections of others

· CONFLICT MANAGEMENT (x- Advantage Obama)
Identifies and takes steps to prevent potential situations that could result in confrontations; manages and resolves conflicts and disagreements in a positive and constructive manner to minimize negative impacts

· LEVERAGES DIVERSITY (x- Advantage Obama)
Recruits, develops and retains a diverse political base; leads and manages an inclusive environment that maximizes the talents of each person to achieve sound results; respects, understands, values and seeks out individual differences to achieve the vision and mission of the organization

· TEAM BUILDING (x- Advantage Obama)
Inspires and guides others toward goal accomplishments; consistently develops and sustains cooperative working relationships; fosters commitment, team spirit, pride and trust; shares leadership and helps the team become interdependent by facilitating participation and group interaction

· TREATS OTHERS WITH RESPECT (x- Advantage Obama)
Considers and responds appropriately to the needs, feelings and capabilities of different people in different situations; is tactful, compassionate and sensitive; challenges others' ideas without getting personal; follows through on commitments to others

· PRESENTS IDEAS EFFECTIVELY (x- Advantage Obama)
Makes clear and convincing presentations to individuals and groups; listens effectively and clarifies information as needed; shares relevant information and expectations openly, honestly and in a timely fashion; targets presentations to the needs and level of the audience; translates complex information into understandable, meaningful, relevant language

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Self-Management and Development: On-going development of skills and competencies to lead the nation.

· TOLERANCE FOR AMBIGUITY (x- Advantage Obama)
Takes changing priorities and new developments in stride, even in the face of ambiguity; leads with a clear sense of priorities in a climate of uncertainty and change

· FLEXIBILITY (x- Advantage Obama)
Is open to change and new information; adapts behavior and work methods in response to new information, technology, changing conditions or unexpected obstacles; adjusts rapidly to new situations warranting attention and resolution

· SELF-KNOWLEDGE AND DEVELOPMENT (x- Advantage Obama)
Recognizes own strengths and weaknesses; seeks feedback from others; extracts learning from failure

· LEARNS CONTINUOUSLY (x- Advantage Obama)
Pursues self-development and opportunities to master new knowledge; applies new knowledge; embraces new and diverse ideas; shares learning broadly

The last two elections were based on simple emotional and subjective criteria such as: our comfort level having a beer with the candidates, our fear of an intellectually superior president, and our fear of changing adminstrations during wartime.

Let's be more substantive and objective this time. Let's set our leadership requirements and make a valid decision based on the candidates' ability to meet those requirements. We deserve nothing less.

Obama: Listening and Learning

"He listened more than he talked, which is always a good thing. He clearly sees himself as a clever synthesizer of other people's ideas. And I think that is an important skill in a president."

--Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google.

"I don't think Senator Obama has an agenda for big business. He's trying to affect the overall economy, and he's got to find a way to help people who are worse off. I don't think he loses any sleep woryinig about how to craft a policy just for big business, not should he, and I say that as a former commerce secretary."

--William M. Daley, JPMorgan Chase.

Choosing a President

Thomas L. Friedman hits the nail on the head again. See his opinion piece in the New York Times for Sunday June 29, 2008.

"We need nation-building at home, and we cannot wait another year to get started. Vote for the candidate who you think will do that best. Nothing else matters."

Anxious in America

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/opinion/29friedman.html?th&emc=th

Thomas L. Friedman/The New York Times

Just a few months ago, the consensus view was that Barack Obama would need to choose a hard-core national-security type as his vice presidential running mate to compensate for his lack of foreign policy experience and that John McCain would need a running mate who was young and sprightly to compensate for his age. Come August, though, I predict both men will be looking for a financial wizard as their running mates to help them steer America out of what could become a serious economic tailspin.

I do not believe nation-building in Iraq is going to be the issue come November — whether things get better there or worse. If they get better, we’ll ignore Iraq more; if they get worse, the next president will be under pressure to get out quicker. I think nation-building in America is going to be the issue.

It’s the state of America now that is the most gripping source of anxiety for Americans, not Al Qaeda or Iraq. Anyone who thinks they are going to win this election playing the Iraq or the terrorism card — one way or another — is, in my view, seriously deluded. Things have changed.

Up to now, the economic crisis we’ve been in has been largely a credit crisis in the capital markets, while consumer spending has kept reasonably steady, as have manufacturing and exports. But with banks still reluctant to lend even to healthy businesses, fuel and food prices soaring and home prices declining, this is starting to affect consumers, shrinking their wallets and crimping spending. Unemployment is already creeping up and manufacturing creeping down.

The straws in the wind are hard to ignore: If you visit any car dealership in America today you will see row after row of unsold S.U.V.’s. And if you own a gas guzzler already, good luck. On Thursday, The Palm Beach Post ran an article on your S.U.V. options: “Continue to spend upward of $100 for a fill-up. Sell or trade in the vehicle for a fraction of the original cost. Or hold out and park the truck in the driveway for occasional use in hopes the market will turn around.” Just be glad you don’t own a bus. Montgomery County, Md., where I live, just announced that more children were going to have to walk to school next year to save money on bus fuel.

On top of it all, our bank crisis is not over. Two weeks ago, Goldman Sachs analysts said that U.S. banks may need another $65 billion to cover more write-downs of bad mortgage-related instruments and potential new losses if consumer loans start to buckle. Since President Bush came to office, our national savings have gone from 6 percent of gross domestic product to 1 percent, and consumer debt has climbed from $8 trillion to $14 trillion.

My fellow Americans: We are a country in debt and in decline — not terminal, not irreversible, but in decline. Our political system seems incapable of producing long-range answers to big problems or big opportunities. We are the ones who need a better-functioning democracy — more than the Iraqis and Afghans. We are the ones in need of nation-building. It is our political system that is not working.

I continue to be appalled at the gap between what is clearly going to be the next great global industry — renewable energy and clean power — and the inability of Congress and the administration to put in place the bold policies we need to ensure that America leads that industry.

“America and its political leaders, after two decades of failing to come together to solve big problems, seem to have lost faith in their ability to do so,” Wall Street Journal columnist Gerald Seib noted last week. “A political system that expects failure doesn’t try very hard to produce anything else.”

We used to try harder and do better. After Sputnik, we came together as a nation and responded with a technology, infrastructure and education surge, notes Robert Hormats, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International. After the 1973 oil crisis, we came together and made dramatic improvements in energy efficiency. After Social Security became imperiled in the early 1980s, we came together and fixed it for that moment. “But today,” added Hormats, “the political system seems incapable of producing a critical mass to support any kind of serious long-term reform.”

If the old saying — that “as General Motors goes, so goes America” — is true, then folks, we’re in a lot of trouble. General Motors’s stock-market value now stands at just $6.47 billion, compared with Toyota’s $162.6 billion. On top of it, G.M. shares sank to a 34-year low last week.

That’s us. We’re at a 34-year low. And digging out of this hole is what the next election has to be about and is going to be about — even if it is interrupted by a terrorist attack or an outbreak of war or peace in Iraq. We need nation-building at home, and we cannot wait another year to get started. Vote for the candidate who you think will do that best. Nothing else matters.

June 29, 2008

"Fatigue makes cowards of us all." --George Patton

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/12/opinion/12collins.html?th&emc=th

This New York Times article (6/12/2008) by Gail Collins questions the judgement of Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama after the recent resignation of James Johnson. Johnson was the head of the VP candidate selection committee for Obama.

Collins criticized the appointment of a man who in the past selected two highly unsuccessful VP running mates (for Walter Mondale and John Kerry); headed up the Countrywide Financial Corp. and had a role in the subprime lending fiasco; was the former head of Fannie Mae (which was widely criticized for its questionnable accounting practices; and, who was involved in a number of controversial compensation package decision (including a $1.4 billion stock option package at UnitedHealth Group).

Collins suggests that Obama showed poor judgement because is tired and needs some rest after a gruelling primary campaign. At least, he got this one out of his system early, she said.

Should we forgive him and give him a Mulligan? Or, is this a preview of decision-making to come???