Thursday, October 30, 2008

"All The Mavericks In The House Put Your Hands Up!"




















For those of you who have been watching SNL, Amy Poehler did a great skit a couple of weeks ago where she rapped, "All the Mavericks in the house, put your hands up! All the plumbers in the house, pull your pants up!" I thought it was great and hilarious. On Tuesday night, 7,500 central Pennsylvanians showed up at Rec Hall to watch a Maverick not only put her hands up but also raise her voice in defense of conservative principles and policies.

Sarah and Todd Palin came on stage around 9 p.m. to a crowd that was energized by Zombie Nation and shouting, "WE ARE PENN STATE." I think they weren't sure what to expect that late at night in Happy Valley, but one thing is for sure . . . the Valley wasn't sleepy!

Due to my husband's insistence upon getting in line very early (thank you, honey) we got GREAT seats and were able to shake hands with the Palins as they walked onstage. It was an honor to shake hands with the second female VP candidate in American history. I missed Geraldine Ferraro in 1988, that was 20 years ago. Let's hope this isn't a once-every-twenty-years phenomenon, right ladies?

One picture shows me handing the Governor a notebook to sign for a little boy who was standing behind me while my husband looks over my right shoulder. The other picture is of Todd helping the Governor sign paraphernalia. The white shirt under her arm is a Lady Lions jersey. She was thrilled to meet them, being a basketball player herself, and posed for pictures with the team.

9 comments:

David Hutchinson said...

I saw the line for this event while driving by Tuesday night. The weather was not good, so I guess the 7,500 were motivated folks. I know that it was a big day for my mother when as a young woman she stood on Broad Street in Trenton and watched President Kennedy ride by (cue the spectre of Sen Benson to admonish that Sarah Palin is no Jack Kennedy).

I write mainly to note the irony that something called Zombie Nation could be used to energize a crowd.

Anonymous said...

How stunningly sad that an unenlightened woman like Sarah Palin could be legitimized on the blog of an otherwise reputable cadre of law professors. Oh wait - Alison Kilmartin is a student, and apparently as unenlightened as they come.

Kelly Joy said...

Strong words, Anonymous. Alison Kilmartin is indeed a student, one of the brightest. I sincerely hope you don't mean to insinuate that students are incapable of informed opinions.

Whether or not you approve of Sarah Palin's politics, the fact remains that she is the GOP's V.P. candidate. If by your castigation of our blog's legitimization of Palin's candidacy, you mean that we ought not take note of what she says and does (especially when in our backyard), then I would be interested to understand your definition of "enlightened."

Alison M. Kilmartin said...

Anonymous, I refer you to a previous and insightful post from my fellow blogger, Ms. Bozanic, regarding the detriment of anonymity. Thank you for supplying such a cogent example.

http://redlionreports.blogspot.com/2008/07/veiled.html

Anonymous said...

There is nothing wrong with the occasional anonymous post, but I guess unfounded, ad hominem attacks are the pinnacle of enlightenment to Anonymous 1.

Anonymous said...

The problem with narrow-minded liberal Democrats is that they go on the attack while hiding behind a veil. While having a conversation about differences of opinion is part of this blog's point, blatant attacks with little substance aren't. Anonymous, if you care to enter the dialogue and have something substantive to contribute, then by all means. However, your cowardice precedes you by your lack of respect for those who may hold different opinions and your further disrespect for DSL students.

David Hutchinson said...

As I understand it we are all registering our contempt for anonymous 1's lack of civility.

As I judge that to have been ably done by Kelly and someone called anonymous 2, I will instead dilate on the offending post's innocence of reason.

In the first place, it has been my exprerience that folks with more pique than understanding often use hyperbolic language as a substitute for substantive argumentation. Hence Alison's post is 'stunningly sad' and Alison herself as 'unenlightened as they come' (as if Alison hangs out deep in the woods and tells passersby that they have pretty mouths).

It is additionally my experience that such folks' pique colors their reading of text. In this example, anonymous 1 seems to have read "Sarah Palin is great, and Read Lion Reports hereby undertakes to legitimize her". I gather this from the content of anonymous 1's post.

But here are a few questions (posed not to anonymous 1, but to anyone interested in playing the reasoned debate game with the net up):

1) Where in Alison's post is the enterprise to which anonymous 1 objects undertaken?

2) Related to some of what Kelly had to say: Is it the case, and should it be, that a post covering Sarah Palin's visit to State College (neither con nor hagiographic; note the reference to the first woman vice presidential candidate, and Alison's apparent regret at having missed a chance to see her) is not just indicia of Alison's unsurpassed unenlightened state, but also, in some cosmic sense, stunningly sad?

3) And where comes this power of Red Lion Reports to legitimize a human being? In what sense?

There is quite enough to disagree about in life without manufacturing controversies. And even in disagreement, it is well to observe a baseline civility. The sort of anger displayed in anonymous 1's message does its most direct damage on its host, but it transgresses too against reason and logic, insofar as it subordinates these to its own chimerical satisfaction.

Finally, let me say this in re: galloping Palin hatred: Coleridge said of Shakespeare's Iago that his offered reasons for doing in Othello amounted to the "motive hunting of motiveless malignancy". Much of Palin hatred, if for no other reason than because the supporting evidence appears in such disproportion to the feeling evoked, seems to be of this type.

Anonymous said...

I am not a google blogger, but will reveal my identity. My name is Terry Burke and I am a classmate of Alison and Kelly. While I disagree with some of their social view points, I completely respect both women with very high regard. I would hope this election would spark conversation about actual issues and not result in degrading people for expressing his/her opinion. Even though I support Barrack Obama, I enjoy discussing the issues with Alison. I must echo the sentiment of Kelly and say that Alison is extremely intelligent and I am very proud to call her a friend! It is time civility is part of our political process!

Anonymous said...

'couldn't resist
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-10-28/so-long-obama/1/