I just don't understand the fascination with the Palins. They're not nice people. Sarah LOST the election and then quit being governor because she could make more money as a TV commentator. Here are my recent sightings:
- Bristol sucking up a storm on Dancing with the Stars (and Mommy Palin beaming proudly from the sidelines)
- Willow and Bristol using anti-gay slurs on Facebook to someone who didn't like the family show (although if ratings are a hint, the whole country must now be gay)
- The entire family hunting bears and skinning fish on their reality show while Sarah exclaims "This is way better than some stuffy politician office."
- Sarah tweeting on every news item, whether she knows anything about it or not (the more likely scenario)
Two recent news items have me up in arms.
Journalism
Sarah recently said this quote in a FOX News interview where she also dissed Katie Couric:
"I want to help clean up the state that is so sorry today of journalism. And I have a communications degree. I studied journalism, who, what, where, when, and why of reporting. I will speak to reporters who still understand that cornerstone of our democracy, that expectation that the public has for truth to be reported. And then we get to decide our own opinion based on the facts reported to us"
I studied journalism - majored in public relations, but I took every journalism class offered and I wrote for the school paper. What she says is complete BS. There are definitely issues with journalism today - mainly the rise of blogging and the lack of fact checking and increase in biased coverage. However, Katie Couric is a REAL journalist and I think she was extraordinarily fair in her interview with Sarah Palin.
Journalism is NOT about asking the interviewee the softball questions they want to answer; it's about asking the tough questions the interview doesn't want to answer, among other things. In my opinion, FOX News is not a legitimate news operation and, as much as I love it, MSNBC is not either. They are both extremely biased in their coverage. It's fine to watch them, just understand that the information you're getting is skewed. (And the fact that FOX News anchors can make undisclosed political contributions is crap.)
Childhood Obesity
In this episode of Sarah is Crazy, Sarah took a batch of cookies along with her at a speaking engagement at a Pennsylvania school. In an effort to encourage children to eat more healthily, the school is limiting sweets and encouraging parents to bring healthier treats than cupcakes and cookies.
"You shouldn't have been making these decisions about what you can eat at the school. Should it be the government or should it be the parents?" Palin asked.Here's the deal - I think a school has a right to decide what types of foods are served in it. There are so many issues nowadays with food allergies, childhood obesity and sensitivities to certain ingredients - I'm shocked that schools allow foods at all.
And I WAS obese as a child and let me tell you, it sucked. I was teased mercilessly: Sasquatch, Pound, Big Bertha, Moo-Cow. The boys would moo at me when I got on the bus. I lived in fear of speaking up in class and hearing a chorus of moos or being made fun of for attempting any sort of physical activity. I couldn't imagine a future where I was an adult with a family because I didn't believe anyone would be interested in marrying someone as fat as me. And I didn't have it as bad as other fat children because I was pretty smart, very involved in school, had lots of friends and had music.
Sure, I was able to make significant changes for myself as an adult, but it would have been much better for me to make those changes as a child. So I think it's good to encourage healthy eating!
Yes, parents should decide what children eat at home. But if they turn a child's care and education over to a school, it's a school's right to determine it's own rules. And the school should choose what's best for the majority of students. Sometimes that's not cake and cookies.
No comments:
Post a Comment