Sam Harris on Sarah Palin

[_dartagnan]

It is a bird... no it is a plane... it is "Superbama"

[_Trevor]

It is a bird... no it is a plane... it is "Superbama"

LOL!!! Hadn't seen that one, but, then, I'm not looking for them either.

[_dartagnan]

Someone who is a big question mark is in for greater scrutiny. There's no use whining about it.

That doesn't even begin to explain the level of attacks and bias towards Palin.

But Obama has been on the scene for only a few years, but we still don't know how he stands on contentious issues like Abortion, his relationship with ACORN, etc.

The liberal media shields him from these things because they could prove damaging to the career they are trying to nurture for him. And being a question mark hardly justifies the level of condescension exhibited towards Palin.

The evidence is abundant. No since in whining about it.

[_Trevor]

The evidence is abundant. No since in whining about it.

"Since" I'm not whining, I'm not concerned. Of course the liberal media is in love with Obama, what in the hell did you expect? The Murdoch drones love their people too. Big surprise.

At the same time, someone who is a little-known quantity is in for greater scrutiny. Winners aren't whiners. You don't see Palin crying about it.

[_dartagnan]

OMG, can you believe this?

The LA Times is planning a hit piece on Palin using the Bible! At what point can we just admit that this level of animous is beyond journalistic ethics. Palin already said she doesn't even attend a particular Church and her faith is fairly just "simple." Obama is devoted to the same whacky Church for nearly two decades. Who is "more" religious? Does Obama not pray too? We'd never know because he's never asked that. Does Obama believe God is on our side? We'd never know because he's never asked that. When exactly does Obama believe a fetus becomes a person? We'd never know because he's never asked that.

L.A. Times Microanalyzes Bible for Sarah Palin Hit Piece

The Los Angeles Times seems to have taken a sudden new interest in biblical study. No, they haven't become religious or anything close to that. Instead, they are microanalyzing the Bible for passages that they think they can use to slam Sarah Palin for running for vice-president. They are also searching the countryside to dig up the very few strongly religious Christians they can find who think Palin is wrong to run for public office. Let us now join Times reporter, Teresa Watanabe, as she begins her biblical studies in her story with an ulterior motive (emphasis mine):

In a white-steepled church along a stretch in picturesque canyon country, the preacher laid out the basic blueprint of a godly marriage: Husbands lead, wives submit.

See where this is going right from the get-go? The reporter is going to use the Bible to suggest to believers that Sarah Palin is violating the "basic blueprint of a godly marriage."

Speaking recently before hundreds of worshipers at Placerita Baptist Church in Newhall, guest preacher Chris Mueller affirmed the view that loving male headship and gracious wifely submission are God's plan for spouses.

Placerita, like many conservative Christian churches, teaches that a wife's role is to be her husband's helpmate (Genesis), "workers at home" (Titus) and submissive to her husband in everything (Ephesians).

Sheesh! Don't they ever let up? I can just picture a Los Angeles Times research team poring over the Bible for the first time to find passages they can cite about how Palin is supposedly a hypocrite for running for office. Watanabe then gives a brief nod about how there are no biblical restrictions on a woman running for public office...but then quickly returns to the basic theme of this hit piece:

Many say that biblical restrictions on women's leadership apply to church and home, not the secular world -- clearing the way for a woman to run the nation but not a congregation. And so long as Palin's husband, Todd, approves, they say, her career conforms with teachings on wifely duties.
But to others, this view contradicts biblical teaching

.
And don't worry. You can absolutely count on the L.A. Times to find those "others" no matter how few they may be.

"The Palin selection is the single most dangerous event in the conscience of the Christian community in the last 10 years at least," said Doug Phillips, president of Vision Forum, a Texas-based ministry. "The unabashed, unquestioning support of Sarah Palin and all she represents marks a fundamental departure from our historic position of family priorities -- of moms being at home with young children, of moms being helpers to their husbands, the priority of being keepers of the home."

Could you find just one more person out there who disapproves of Palin running for office due to a supposedly biblical perspective? Please! Pretty please!

Voddie Baucham, a Texas pastor who has criticized the Palin selection as anti-family in a series of blogs, said that the overwhelming evangelical support demonstrates a willingness to sacrifice biblical principles for politics. "Evangelicalism has lost its biblical perspective and its prophetic voice," Baucham wrote. "Men who should be standing guard as the conscience of the country are instead falling in line with the feminist agenda and calling a family tragedy . . . a shining example of family values."

Yup. The L.A. Times came through by finding one more of those rare kooks who thinks that Palin shouldn't be a candidate because of a "biblical perspective" that almost no one else sees. Watanabe then makes it seem like there is some sort of big debate out there among Christians over whether Palin should run for office:

Most of the debate on Palin, however, centers on whether a mother with young children is violating Scripture by running for such a demanding office as vice president. The key biblical verse at issue is Titus 2:5, which many evangelical Christians believe lays out God's command to younger women to be workers at home subject to their husbands.

Yeah, a big raging debate that almost no one, except the liberal Los Angeles Times, knows even exists. File this under conjuring up a non-existent controversy for strictly political purposes.

[_Trevor]

The LA Times is planning a hit piece on Palin using the Bible!

Link or reference?

[_dartagnan]

Oh, sorry

[_Trevor]

Oh, sorry

It will be interesting to see the piece. If it is as NewsBusters makes it out to be, that has to be one of the more cynical moves the media has made. I have a difficult time believing the LA Times gives a rat's a$$ whether Palin is behaving in a manner consistent with Bible teachings by running for political office.

I think it is legitimate to argue, as you have before, that Evangelicals do not vote as a monolithic block or all see things in exactly the same way. This has become ever more apparent recently. But this tactic seems to me to be very deceptive and aimed at one thing alone: hurting Palin.

I should think the LA Times would be happy that an Evangelical woman is feminist enough to do what Sarah does, and that her husband has no problem with it at all. That is a story, not this Bible BS.

[_dartagnan]

Sorry I should have linked directly to the article itself:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/polit ... 0660.story

[_Trevor]

This does not read like a "hit piece" to me.

Here is a large portion of the article, which was not quoted, that suggests the article is addressing divisions within the Evangelical community on this issue.

Palin may have taken center stage at the moment, but the evangelical Christian world has been buffeted for years by growing tensions between those who support egalitarian roles for men and women and those who promote "complementarianism." That's the view that God values men and women equally but granted them distinctly different roles.

Some of the debate centers on whether the Bible allows women to serve as civil leaders. Vision Forum leaders argue that it does not. They cite passages in Genesis, Isaiah, Ephesians and elsewhere that they say establishes male headship over women and are critical of female leadership.

Others counter that restrictions on female leadership apply only to church and home. They include Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky; and Randy Stinson, whose Kentucky-based Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood was established to combat growing feminism in evangelical churches.

Most of the debate on Palin, however, centers on whether a mother with young children is violating Scripture by running for such a demanding office as vice president. The key biblical verse at issue is Titus 2:5, which many evangelical Christians believe lays out God's command to younger women to be workers at home subject to their husbands.

Although many conservative Christians agree that women should place homemaking over working outside, many are hesitant to apply those views to Palin. Christian author Martha Peace, whose book "The Excellent Wife" tells women to submit to husbands and be good homemakers, said she would not make the same choice as Palin.

Ditto for Richard Land, who heads the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and recommended Palin to the McCain campaign. He also would not do as the Palins have done. "I'm not hard-wired to be the 'First Dude,' " he said.

But Peace and Land are two of many who say the public should stay out of what is a matter between the Palins and their pastor. "I wouldn't presume to make that judgment for another family," Land said.

Others cite biblical passages they believe affirm Palin's decision to join the GOP ticket.

Take the woman at Placerita Baptist Church, where the women's ministry offers classes on "Heavenly Homemaking" and Bible classes on the apostle Paul's epistle that declared husbands are the head of wives, as Christ is the head of the church.

Eighteen women gathered recently to discuss Palin. They included stay-at-home moms and home-schoolers, small business owners and nurses, some with high school diplomas and others with doctoral degrees. All of them expressed support of Palin, particularly for standing against abortion and embracing her infant son.

Janice Hodgson, who worked in the mortgage business until recently, said Proverbs 31 offers a positive view of working women with servants -- suggesting, she said, that it is fine for Palin to hire nannies to help care for her children.

Barbara Barrick, the women's ministry coordinator, said she looks to Deborah, a prophetess and judge, as a biblical example of a female leader. Ennis cited Abraham's wife, Sarah, and Queen Esther as other women called by God for special missions.