Victim Mentality

I had planned to say that this will be the last time I'll blog about Sarah Palin, but there may come a time when a higher calling will compel me to offer opinions about her again so I'll leave that option open. Oh, my......just thinking about Sarah Palin causes fangs to grow in my mouth and horns to sprout on my head……all due to jealousy, of course. Definitely, that's an unhealthy situation for me, and seeing as medical procedures are too expensive to indulge in---defangings and dehornings being very costly---it behooves me to avoid pondering much over stressful issues that transform me into a snarling monstrosity.

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However…..here we go. The above two photos of Sarah Palin were taken---recently, I think---by photographer Brian Adams for the magazine Runner’s World. Click for the slideshow and interview on the Runner’s World website. Let me admit right off the bat that Sarah Palin looks fantastic......and, considering that she's 45 years old and has given birth to five children, her body condition is phenomenal. I've been through four pregnancies and my body attests to that fact MUCH more obviously than Sarah's body attests to five. (Sad to say, I put very little effort into post-partum fitness regimes and am now paying the price.)

Ok…..call me nosy and stupid, but I have a question or two concerning the above two photos. What must the conversation have been like during this photo shoot? I’m assuming the first scene was taken before the second one, though I could be wrong, of course. Did the photographer peer at the first photo and then say, “Ok, Governor…..would you mind bending over a little bit more for the next shot. Yeah…..there you go…..good idea…..reach for your lower leg. Turn a bit. Perfect. Hold it right there.” Click.....FLASH! And, then.....whoops......SPLASH......into the lake she toppled!

I just don't get it. What persuades a supposedly strict and seriously Christian* woman to unzip her shirt just so and then lean way over for a photograph? (Sure, sure.....its just a runner's stretch. Wink, wink.) Granted, Governor Palin's pose is quite tame, considering our relatively loose modern-day modesty standards, but what was the intent and purpose of that photo in the first place? Was it simply to demonstrate stretching techniques? Or, to provide pin-up posters for her fans? (*Sorry, my own strict, seriously Christian upbringing continues to exert its often prudish influence on my opinions. I fight it as best I can, but am not always successful.)

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You surely know this already, but, lo and behold.....a few days ago Sarah Palin announced that she is stepping down from her post as governor of Alaska, before her first term is even up. Some say she is leaving politics for good. Others say she has her sights set on a leadership role in the national Republican Party and a possible run for the presidency in 2012. No one seems to know for sure. (Though, reportedly, there is a book deal in the works.)

Its very obvious to me and my pesky conservative Christian upbringing that Sarah Palin's current "high" calling is, or should be, motherhood. Sarah could moonlight as a spandex fitness clothing model in her spare time. That's my personal opinion, of course, formed partly from my jealousy of her.....jealousy over the fact that I don't possess a model's face or physique AND I stayed home and raised my children BEFORE continuing to stay home and embark upon my blogging "career". In addition, there is my disappointment over having never been approached to be photographed for the centerfold of Trudger's World magazine. Boo-hoo-hoo. I am a victim of the unfairness of life. But then again......I must remember that being humorless and whiny and casting myself as a victim will get me nowhere, so somehow I must learn to get over myself, and possibly even laugh at my own foibles.

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(Actually, while finalizing this post, it dawned on me that Sarah Palin might just be the perfect poster person for those of us who can't afford regular visits to the doctor. Being slim and toned surely helps insure good health, and if your health insurance premiums and deductibles are sky high and you can't afford doctor visits, maintaining good health by staying trim and in shape would be just the ticket. In fact, I recently read a newspaper article which stated that a Congressional committee discussing the health care crisis had determined that obesity and diabetes are the main causes of skyrocketing health care expenses and insurance premiums. Apparently there's little consideration given to the possibility that insurance companies or doctors or hospitals might be somewhat to blame for high medical costs, too. That aside.....just think, if the healthcare focus becomes disease prevention, the government might intervene in peoples' lives by requiring them to live healthier lifestyles, lose weight, and eat healthy. More of that darn government intervention coming our way!)

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Hmm.....on second thought......big, glossy posters of spandex-clad Sarah-the-Fit might just prompt a health-kick trend across the nation. Perhaps THAT would be a fitting "higher calling" for Sarah Palin. Certainly, I don't wish the woman any ill, but neither can I bring myself to wish her success in the national political arena, which is where Sarah's July 4th Facebook entry seems to imply she might be headed. (Just so you know.....last year during the vp candidates' debate on TV, I thought it rather bizarre the way Governor Palin stared unwaveringly right into the camera while giving her answers, instead of looking at the moderator like the other candidate did. I quickly decided not to look into her eyes. I know, I know.....that's just me being goofy and hyper-critical, but her stare bothered me. I didn't want to get accidentally hypnotized or subliminally influenced by her eyes.)

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Ok, I'm rambling now, so I'd better quit.....plus, the fangs and horns are starting to erupt. I will henceforth attempt to return this blog to farm and family fare, with a few wildflowers and skies and cows thrown in for good measure……and, NO politics in sight for a long time, hopefully, although I've been trying to get a slight grasp of the Climate Change Bill that passed in the U.S. House recently and has been sent on to the Senate. Eventually, I'll attempt to post about it.....betcha can't wait for that.

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P.S. - One last thing: If you wish to donate to Sarah Palin's legal expense fund, go here. IF milk prices were higher and our health insurance premiums lower......I might then consider donating to the cause, too, of course. Cough, cough.

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