Yearly Archives: 2011

We regretfully return to one of my least favorite topics: Sarah Palin, what she says and what she stands for.  In this episode, we find Queen Sarah speaking to a business group in Long Island.  At one point in her talk, Sarah’s mysterial muse inspires her to make a joke about breast-feeding:

“It’s no wonder Michelle Obama is telling everybody you better breastfeed your baby–yeah, you better–because the price of milk is so high right now!”

Sigh.  Not only politically incorrect but factually wrong.  The chart below shows how the price of a gallon of milk has risen vs the general rate of inflation over the last ten years:

Since 2001, prices in general (CPI) have risen 26 percent, while milk has risen 18 percent.  Sarah can’t let the truth get in the way when a snarky remark can be made at the expense of those she opposes.

Why does she bother me so much, that I would take time to fact-check the price of milk?  It is not just her political stance (though that’s a good start).  She also triggers my distaste for celebrity, or more accurately, the legitimacy that our culture confers on celebrity.  It is beyond me why a celebrity’s fashion should be copied, why a celebrity’s opinions should have more value than others, why a celebrity’s life should matter to complete strangers.  One can argue that Sarah Palin is our first political celebrity, someone who is famous for being famous rather than for any real accomplishment.

Sarah embraces her celebrity, as she should.  It provides great cover for her incoherence.

I have bad feelings about the no-fly zone the UN (more accurately, the USA*) is about to impose on Libya.  There will be bombing.  There will be retaliation.  And we will have to respond to events the same way we drive through fog at high speed with 10-foot visibility.  As I said, I have bad feelings.

* Russia, China, Germany, Brazil and India abstained from the Security Council vote.

From our local Gannett-owned newspaper:

“Authorities are searching for a convicted felon who escaped from the Haywood County jail annex Sunday night.  Sheriff Bobby Suttles said Frank Lee Evans, Jr., ran out the front door of the annex while waiting to be transferred to the main jail around 8 p.m. Sunday.

“Evans, who was convicted last week for breaking and entering, larceny and possessing stolen property, was being transferred after the officer on duty found him trying to punch a hole through the roof Sunday night.

“The detention officer brings him out front and is on the phone to call up here to transport him to the jail and Mr. Evans sees an opportunity and runs out the door and escapes,” Suttles said. “We made several attempts to try to locate Mr. Evans, his known residence and areas we think he might go, and so far we haven’t been able to locate him.”

Not to worry, Sheriff Suttles. Mr. Evans is probably hanging out with Otis, the town drunk, and they will stagger into the jailhouse together in the morning.