Eve Ensler
Is every Democrat feeling that we might lose? I just won't believe that our country could extend the dreaded Bush years by putting John McCain and his side kick Sarah Palin in office. It is scary and incredible at the same time the uproar over Sarah Palin. You might like her but being President is way out of her league. Most of the people I know would be out of their league as President. The President isn't necessarily someone we can all kick back and go shoot caribou with. Check out Gail Collins editorial in the NYTimes today. Another spot on piece.
My friend sent me this piece that Eve Ensler (playwright, performer, feminist, activist) that hits the nail on the head about Sarah Palin. I am sick of the Feminist card being played. Sarah Palin is not hands off because she is a woman. That is utter bullshit. She stepped into the ring, now lets what she she is made of, hear about her history, the decisions she has made while being in a position of power, etc. Everyone else who is running has.
So, here is Eve's piece.
DRILL, DRILL, DRILL
by Eve Ensler
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?
Comments (Archived):
I’m feeling it! I told a friend last night, I don’t think Obama’s gonna win. He reminded me, hey, the election isn’t for another 2 months. A lot of stuff can happen in 2 months. I hope he’s right.
There isn’t a person that I know who isn’t feeling it. I hope your friendis right too.
Why in the world does everyone think this is such a fantastic piece by Eve? I agree wholly that Palin is not what we want nor need but there are some seriously loaded sentences here with absolutely no evidence. It’s just not a well written piece. Let’s find something better to pass around that has REAL facts and reasons not to vote for her- this is no better than some of the crud I have gotten from some of my Republican family members that are filled with half truths, speculations, and lies about Obama. Where is the info that Palin herself shot wolves from the air? Where is the evidence the Palin herself killed 40 caribou? I don’t like this woman either but seriously, show me the evidence.
I believe everything Eve writes about is from comments Palin made. Theloaded sentences did not come out of thin air.
She says “From what I gather” and then states something that is just plain not true.
Then you know nothing of fact. That’s the problem with libs.DRILL DRILL DRILL
Oh, here- the book ban is just flat out NOT TRUE, so I just really do not believe that the rest of the article was well researched. There are plenty of truths about Palin that can be discussed, let’s concentrate on those. http://www.politifact.com/t…
Another example off Fuzzy Left Wing Illogical thinking. Sara Palin is the correct choice. Sara cares about the enviroment, there must be a balance of nature. This total sour grapes by a woman who writes and talks to her Vagina. I have talke to many vaginas and never heard one answer me yet.Obamas mama was sperminated at a very young age then dumped whilst his Communist, Harvard educated father took part in one of the most corrupt regimes ever seen in AfricaObama is about 42% Arabic, 50% white and maybe 8% black. If God forbid he would be elected, he would be the first Arab-American President. Joe Biden is a joke in the Senate, good ole boys club senior member. The choice is clear, vote Demo for a Left Wing Arabic/Islamic/Muslim Extremist or vote for John McCain a real American hero. I would vote for Ron Paul but unfortunately that would be a non-vote for McCain. We need mcCain alot more than a corrupt radical organizer backed by The Communist Party, known Commies John Ayers and his killer wife Bernadette Dorhn.
“If God forbid he would be elected, he would be the first Arab-American President”Sam – that’s a racist statement if I ever heard one. I’d love to have an arab-american president. i’d also love to have a jewish american president, an irish american president, a mexican american president, an italian american president, etc. We are a melting pot. that’s why america is what it is. but if we insist on only electing white christian people, we’ll lose our attractiveness as the land of the free pretty damn quick in this global economy we live in
FredThat is not racist, that is a statement of fact. We had JFK as an American President of Irish descent. We are all Americans, unfortunately for you, you don’t know the truth and one thing a Liberal can’t stand is facts and truth. Your fuzzy logic gets all twisted around your little sissy panties. Be a man and take a stand for a real American hero. Obama is an Islam/Muslim don’t delude yourself. Obama may not even be a natural born citizen. He may be ineligible to be President, God forbid that that might happen. take your Socialist views and go somewhere were they might like to hear them. I am no longer the “Silent Majority” You can’t scream me down, Never… Get used to it, because we have all the guns anyway! lol Sam
Sissie panties?What are nut job or something?
fred, I would say the complete opposite, I think you and your weird friends supporting an Islamic/Muslim unknow entity is what is scary! I am a rational, and know this will scare you, a hard working retired American who is also a veteran. I worked hard, bought a house, paid my overbearing taxes for the Liberals failed welfare system. No proof since FDR that this system has worked. I believe every American is entitled to a floor of safety under them for food and shelter. We have these systems in place already. I don’t think I owe you a 60″ big screen TV or a 4 bedroom 2 bath home, unless you work for it and can purchase it.Welfare recipients should only get their checks at the end of a 40 hr work week or that their children were productively in school every day and they can pass a drug test.I am tired of paying for their dope and liquor.I know this affronts your senses, but get over it. We the middle class are not going away! I am a registered independent, who would have voted for Ron Paul, but alas if I did, it would be a vote for Obama and that will never happen.He will lose in November and we can get down to life again for 3 more years. 1 year of campaigning. I think a strict term limit of 2 terms for any politician is more than enough…
Er Fred, you know what they say about wrestling pigs and feeding trolls, right? Don’t waste your time, it’s far too bloody expensive!
Hmmm. I didn’t realise how many comments this guy had left further down.You know this almost smells more astroturfish than trollish to me. What would a drongo like this be doing reading GothamGal? Does Disqus tell blog owners the IP address of their commenters? I presume not which is probably a good thing, but there are times when it can be quite handy to have that edge.
Sam – just out of curiosity, what percentage of Arab blood do you think would be acceptable? 42% is too high — what about, say, 15%? 25%? 33%? Any other kinds of blood you wouldn’t want entering the White House? I’d love to see some kind of breakdown.Update: … and, the more I think about it, the more curious I get about the 42%. If my back-of-the-envelope estimate is right, for Obama to be 42% Arab, he would need to have about 27 Arab great-great-great-great-grandparents (out of 64 great-great-great-great-grandparents). So apparently you’re saying that he has 27 Arab great-great-great-great-grandparents and five black great-great-great-great-grandparents (and one white parent). Is this based on something you actually know, or did you just guess at that number?
Nathan,Those were numbers done by a person who studies bloodlines and heredity. His Father was mostly Arabic from his part of Kenya. I will have to look for the sight. My biggest concern is Obamas backers, when The Communist Party of the US, Ken Ayers and Bernadette Dorhn back you that makes me real nervous. I din’t guess at any numbers. I only reported as to what I construed as fact. A lot better than James carville and hi ilk ever did. As I said we are not silent anymore. The middle and right are standing together until the Socialists and left wing looneys are out of our Government. Sorry for typos. Hard to type when I am pissed off.sam
So you’re not sure where the numbers come from, but you read them somewhere online. Okay. And what about my other question? How much Arab blood would be permissible in a President, since 42% is evidently too much, according to you?
Nathan,100% Arabic blood is acceptable for me to be President under the following conditions: He/she were not a Muslim or Islamic. Swore on a Christian Bible to uphold the Constitution.Was not endorsed by the Communist Party. Was not backed by Ayers and Bernadette Dorhn or any other of his Communist or Uber Socialist elitist guard.Remember a Communist is just a Socialist in a hurry.
Oh, okay, I thought when you said he’d be the first Arab-American president should he be elected, and that this was based on his having “42%” Arab blood, that you were saying there was something wrong with that. I guess I just misunderstood you. Of course since Obama’s born-again experience and Christian testimony are well-documented going back to the beginning of his candidacy (http://snipr.com/3q1ra) the religious question is not really an issue either.So you’re saying that a person has to be Christian to be president? Or just not Muslim?
Just not a Muslim/Islamic. The Rev Jeramiah (sp) is not what I believe is correct for a religion. He is a racist! No room for racism. Obama only converted to Christianity when Ayers and Dorhn got him to run for President. It’s too late for this Uber Left Muslim wacko to change his stripes.He is what he is, Evil in my opinion.
Nathan,The numbers came from a black California radio show host by the name of, TERRY ANDERSON.if you want Ican send you his list. Give me an email add, I will be glad to send.Sam
SamDee says “vote Demo for a Left Wing Arabic/Islamic/Muslim Extremist”. Talk about lies! The Muslim extremist label the ultra-right has tried to attach to Obama has been discredited many times as absolutely not true. Obama was raised by his mother and his grandparents. His father, who as Sam states did not have much to do with Obama in his formative years, was Muslim. Not all Muslims are extremists; in fact I know and work with many who are very nice and very pro-American. The TRUTH is McCain is out of touch (does not know how many houses he owns, confuses Spain and Latin America, says our economy is fundamentally sound, etc.) and Palin is simply not qualified to be VP or (help us all) President. Four more years of a Bush clone will wreck this country. In fact, the US came very close to an economic meltdown last week! The people need to wake up and vote for change!
Shark, do you have any idea how Politics work? Don’t blame the economy on the President. In a PBS NOW Poll, the people say Palin is qualified to lead as VP by a margin of 56 to 43 pct. We do know who watches PBS. Please read the following piece on Politicians, then let me know your feelings.Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits?Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The president does.You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.You and I don’t control monetary policy, The Federal Reserve Bank does.One hundred senators, 435 congress-men, one president and nine Supreme Court justices – 545 human beings out of the 300 million – are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress.In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank.I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority.They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing.I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he/she votes.Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall.No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits.The president can only propose a budget.He cannot force the Congress to accept it.The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.Who is the speaker of the House?The leader of the majority party.That person, along with fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want and it has always been that way regardless of which party has the majority.If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility.I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red.If the Marines are in IRAQ , it’s because they want them in IRAQ .There are no insoluble government problems.Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like ‘the economy,’ ‘inflation’ or ‘politics’ that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.Those 545 people and they alone, are responsible.They and they alone, have the power.They and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses – provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!THIS IS CALLED CHANGE!NO INCUMBENTS!A maximum of 2 terms, absolute limit!
Wow. Just another great example that “feminism” is nothing more than a mask for elite liberalism. I guess if Palin enjoyed murdering unborn babies, wore pants-suits, and thought she was once a monkey, she could have wine and cheese with the elite. I would argue that Palin knows far more about polar beers than Ensler; unless seeing them in a zoo or on Discover Channel is sufficient for debate. And I’m sure that the great all-knowing Ensler knows the difference between Micro and Macro evolution. I missed the Smithsonian in Washington that had on exhibit an example of one species becoming another. And to continue to subscribe to the idea of man-made global warming, oh yeah, I forgot, it was man-made global cooling in the 70’s, then the libs changed there mind and decided it was man-made global warming in the mid 80’s into the 90’s… Oh man, I’m wrong again. Then the libs decided neither was right and they flip-flopped again to man-made catastrophic global climate change. Man, what a mouthful! But wait, now I’m being told by the original father of GW himself Al Gore, that we are going back to man-made global cooling which, of course, is caused by man-made global warming. Can anyone say Ian Plimer? And I did miss the memo telling me that Global Warming causes cancer. And for the great and all-knowing Ensler to forget to mention Palins comment concerning the Iraq war being a “task from God” was actually a para-phrase from an address Abraham Lincoln made at the outset of the Civil War… but who are we to say; Ensler knows best. Who knows, before you know, the libs will be comparing Barack Hussein Obama to Jesus and Palin to Ponches Pilate. Oh wait, it’s already happening. But what do I know, I’m just a bitter redneck from Tennessee who clings to his bible, guns, and religion. But, I do live just about walking distance from the Gore compound.DRILL DRILL DRILL
NONE,Great comments very succinct. But you have to remember Liberals hate the truth and logic. It befuddles them. Remember Al Gore may not have invented the Internet, but he did invent Global warming!Thanks,Sam
Whoa. Where did this all come from? These comments are as nasty as the responses on the recent political string on Fred’s site. Is it even real? The confusion between “all terrorists are Muslims” with “all Muslims are terrorists” seems to be at the root of Sam Dick’s comments. Pretty damn ignorant, if you ask me — but he is entitled to have his opinion. I’ve seen the “Liberals don’t care about the facts” followed by the wave of “you must be anti-American” thing before. It is designed to shut Liberals up by creating a fear of evoking this kind of vicious response. Don’t let it. Conservatives hate this kind of debate out in the open. It tends to reveal the self-centered nature of their positions and make them look misanthropic. To quote the movie “The American President”, “…How do you have patience for people who claim they love America, but clearly can’t stand Americans?…”
Jonathan,Number 1, I am not ignorant nor am I a conservative.I am an American who is very afraid for the direction that this country is going. Communism & Socialism have never worked in any society. Nor is Capitalism perfect. I can’t believe the wave of people jumping on the Obama bandwagon, because he is the new media darling. He has no proven trackrecord, has never authored or even co-authored a Seenate bill. Voted present 143 times, instead of taking a stance. He was sponsored by Ayers & Dorhn at their palatial home in Chicago. Anyone that is supported by the Communist Party of the USA is bothersome.. You are a typical ideological liberal. You would vote for anyone as long as they were a liberal/Democrat, without reservation. That is what scares me. I don’t believe your Muslim analogy. There are no absolutes. I am a registered Independent, I would vote for Ron Paul except for the fact that that would be a vote for Obama. You can never shut a liberal up because that is all they do is talk. I llove a good debate. Too bad liberals can’t stand the truth or logic. How are we going to pay for Obamas liberal programs. I have a thought why don’t we tax business? Oh but Mr Liberal, do you realize that businesses only collect taxes and pass them through to the government.Business does not pay taxes, we the people do. I could go on, but you won’t listen to reason anyway it seems by your rhetoric. Maybe you’ll turn to James Carville or the mass media for your info…Sam
Hey Sam , I think you need to eat one of the gotham gal’s fruit tarts to sweeten you up!
Hey Ellen,Do you make them? Would love to try one. Did you read all the replies?Sam
It looked like the entire NYT editorial team completely went to town on her this weekend, which raised them up a few notches in my somewhat limited remaining esteem for the American mass media.Anyway, here’s my thinking: don’t panic. The polls will probably not be taking account of a vast number of younger voters who only have mobiles and will be mostly Obama supporters. Also the Obama GOTV effort will have about 100 times as many volunteer staff, and O is going to have more money. And as they say, money talks, bullshit walks – and it appears that bullshit is all McCain’s team have left to run on at this stage…
Many people, as we well know, speak out of their asses. Eve Ensler, on the other hand, speaks out of her vagina. When it comes to empowering women or giving young girls options, Sarah Palin is a much better role model than most women in the spotlight, including Ms. Ensler. It never ceases to amaze me how people like her can care so passionately about polar bears or other creatures or causes and yet seemingly not care for the lives of defenseless human babies who are aborted every year, the overwhelming majority NOT conceived via rape or incest. I believe the figure in have heard is about 40 million abortions in the past 25 years or so. The hypocrisy is astounding — I guess fetuses and infants in the womb don’t qualify for Ms. Ensler as an “endangered species”.As for Ms. Palin, a self-made woman who possesses strong family core values and the pioneer spirit which made this country great, she must be discredited and ridiculed, because God forbid, a God fearing woman from humble circumstances who puts family first and her constituents ahead of special interests must not be allowed to succeed. After all, she isn’t Ivy League educated, she’s a hockey mom for gosh sakes, she not vegan, and she’s silly enough to send her son off to fight for this country, helping protect the right of free speech for pompous windbags, elitists and two-faced feminists (who can’t celebrate the accomplishments and potential success of a woman politician, unless she’s “our kind” of woman) to regurgitate their bile and vindictiveness. Sarah Palin has more integrity in her little finger than Nancy Pelosi has in her entire phony body, and is a breath of fresh air in the sordid, corrupt arena of American politics which for too long has benefitted special interests as opposed to the people.And aside to to Ms. Ensler: So you have never even seen or touched a polar bear. Well, should you ever be in close enough proximity to touch one, it would probably rip your face off with one swipe of it claws and then devour you. As Shakespeare put it, “Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished”! Should you ever find yourself in that position, however, you better hope that Sarah Palin is close by with her rifle to save your faux feminist ass.
Phil,Very well articulated. Keep it up because the liberals can’t stand the truth.As I keep telling them, start playing nice, because we have all the guns… LOL
Well done Phil!Remember, there are two simple reasons feminists / liberals hate Palin: She is a conservative, and she is pro-life!This is truly an example of Ockham’s razor.DRILL DRILL DRILL
Time to THINK, not to merely FEEL.I guess she’d prefer sending young men and mwomen to die for our energy…we need it ALL, including renewables and nukes, but until someone can create the scale needed….keep on drilling….Boulder COlorado, a mecca for liberalism and New Age thinking,k was once an old oil town…show me the permanent scarring
Personally, I am an Independent & I usually lean toward the Democratic Party. I do vote with the issues in mind; “who will we benefit from most leading our country”. For these reasons, I most likely will not vote for the McCain/Palin ticket . That being said, I think Eve Ensler should be ashamed if she did in fact, write this piece. I know she has been involved in a few wonderful organizations for example; the “Afghani Women’s Summit For Democracy”. However, who is Eve Ensler to decide, let alone put it in writing, that,”She (Sarah Palin) 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.” I found that statement (along with a few others) very offensive. Has everyone forgotten the Vagina Monologues (which she wrote) included a section entitled, “The Little Coochie Snorcher that Could”. That portion of the play, as originally performed, was criticized for including a lesbian “rape” scene of a 13-year-old girl by a 24-year-old woman who used alcohol to lower the inhibitions of her victim. At the conclusion of that segment, the narrator (the grown-up thirteen year old girl) fondly reminisces about the rape, claiming that it helped to nurture her and help her grow as a woman. She finished the play with the line, “If it was rape, it was good rape”. The segment received criticism not only for depicting any rape as “good”, but also for forming a double standard, as elsewhere in the play, male-on-female rape is depicted as not only inexcusable but the ultimate act of violence against women. The outrage was so huge, Eve Ensler ultimately was forced to modify that scene in later performances; plus she changed the young girl’s age to 16, and the “good rape” line was omitted. So I think Eve Ensler is an insult to woman’s rights. I could go on like how at age 26 she adopted Actor Dylan McDermott when he was 18, but I won’t go there.