Sharon Angle Thinks God Has A Plan

I'll admit, I really haven't paid too much attention to Sharon Angle up to this point. Endorsed by the Tea Party Express, Angle is the Republican nominee for the Nevada Senate seat in 2010, challenging incumbent Harry Reed. Other than that, I really hadn't paid much attention to her - after all her Republican primary opponent Sue Lowden was amusing enough with her statements that people should barter for medical services with barnyard animals.

But now I must thank Rachel Maddow for bring Angle to my attention, as she will undoubtedly provide me with much entertainment over the next few months. Her positions on issues are interesting to say the least, and up to this point as been running a reasonably successful campaign, with Angle leading Reid 48% to 41% in the most recent Rasmussen poll.

For today let's just focus on a great hot button issue: abortion. Now, it is one thing to be pro life - I might disagree, however I can at the very least understand the viewpoint. However, Sharon Angle is far more extreme than most pro lifers are; not only does she think that abortion is morally wrong for the average unplanned pregnancy, but also for women who have become pregnant as a result of incest or rape. Her reasoning for this is staggering, as she stated in a radio interview on the Bill Manders show back in January:

Manders: I, too, am pro life but I'm also pro choice, do you understand what I mean when I say that.

Angle: I'm pro responsible choice. There is choice to abstain choice to do contraception. There are all kind of good choices.

Manders: Is there any reason at all for an abortion?

Angle: Not in my book.

Manders: So, in other words, rape and incest would not be something?

Angle: You know, I'm a Christian and I believe that God has a plan and a purpose for each one of our lives and that he can intercede in all kinds of situations and we need to have a little faith in many things (Check out the audio here).

Yes, you heard right folks. Essentially, Sharon Angle is saying that if a woman has been raped, it is because God willed it to happen, as otherwise he would have interceded. Either that, or that God will somehow cause a miscarriage to happen without medical aid. Either way, I am certainly not comfortable with the idea of a God that would allow a woman to be raped for a greater purpose. That image of God most definitely does not coincide with the pleasant grandfather figure that I was taught about in Sunday school.

This is exactly the sort of issue that drives me crazy about politicians that use their religious as a political tool. I do not mind that my politicians hold religious beliefs, or that they are open about them. What does bother me, is when politicians make decisions that can affect policy entirely on the basis of that religion. Sharon Angle may be a Christian, and her God may tell her that her view is correct...but what about her constituents that hold a different view of a Christian God? What about those that are not even Christian? At the very least she could have stated the abortion is murder no matter how the child was conceived - that position would at least make logical sense to me, as opposed to this elusive "because God willed it" stance.

Nevada, will you please take care not to elect this woman? Thank you.

Tik Tok Spock

This is awesome. Have I mentioned I went through an original Star Trek phase when I was 10-11ish?

Sure, You Can Pose Nude...Just Kidding!

Feminist Bile Alert!

Jessie Lunderby, a 21 year old detentions officer from Arkansas, is currently on paid administrative leave pending the country sheriff's office decision on whether or not her nude photo shoot for Playboy's "Cyber Girl of the Week" violated the law enforcement ethics code. Somewhat problematic with the sheriff's office criticism is that Lunderby informed her superiors before doing the shoot, allowing them the time to let her know if this was some that she should not do. Instead, the sheriff's office waited until the photos had gone up on the Playboy website to inform her that her conduct was inappropriate, and that she might be fired for posing nude.

Now I full-heartedly consider myself to be a sex-positive feminist. Do I find Playboy to be misogynistic and demeaning, and Hugh Heffner to be a disgusting, though savvy, businessman)? Most certainly, however I do firmly believe in this woman's right to pose nude if that is what she wishes to do. I cannot imagine that being a female corrections officer brings in that large of an income, and with a husband and an 18-month old son it is certainly understandable why she would choose to do the photo shoot for financial reasons alone, never mind her personal attitude towards nude modelling.

In the various articles/clips I've seen about this, I've yet to find anyone who could explain how Lunderby's modeling would impact her job performance. As far as I can tell the argument against her is almost entirely a knee-jerk morality judgement (though the delay in informing her that this was inappropriate makes the whole situation appear like a set up to create an excuse to have her fired).

If she was working with children, then -maybe- I could understand the sheriff's office reaction; I would still disagree, but it would at least make more sense. However as presumably the prison she works at is for adults, who undoubtedly have had their share of sexual experiences, it seems somewhat ridiculous to claim that these photos will cause her to lose her authority with the inmates. That is demeaning both to her as it implies that she is not qualified enough to successfully do her job (in an environment that is definitely dominated by men), and to the inmates, as it presumes that they are not mature human beings who can understand that the officer shuttling them to and from the courthouse might be a sexual person. And who is to say that the inmates would have even seen the photos? Last time I checked not every male on the planet has a paid subscription to Playboy.com.

It sounds like if she gets fired, Lunderby will be taking this issue (and others) to court, and suing the county. Good for her. I hope that she gets the compensation that she deserves.

Hot From Milan..

I get that I am not that in-tune with the fashion world, and that sometimes high fashion is a bit hard to apply to real life...but can anyone actually imagine a man wearing this swimsuit monstrosity from Emporio Armani?



Think that's bad? Now in your head exchange the hot model for a less fit guy, without a rock hard chest...horrifying isn't it?

Ryan Star, It's Been a Long Time Coming

I am not a musically knowledgeable person. It's not unusual for it to take months for me to realize a song I heard on the radio or in dance class is actually x song by x artist. A look through my sizable itunes library is more indicative of the tastes of my friends than of any of mine (with the exception of all the musicals of course). Do I really listen to all the punk music on my computer? No. That's leftover from my friend Emma's Against Me phase.

That all being said, I do have occasional artists I fixate on, the musicians who's songs I invariably end up humming constantly much to everyone else's dismay. Billy Joel was my obsession from my tween years (and younger). These days, its Ryan Star.

I came across Ryan Star back in 2006, when he was on the CBS reality show Rock Star: Supernova. Since then my friend Andrea and I have followed his career closely, anxiously waiting for his long delayed major label solo debut...and finally it will be released on August 3rd! Andrea and I will be going to the cd release party (the album is titled 11:59), and we are both SO excited to finally be both in the same place to go to one of his concerts (believe me, we've been trying to go for the last four years).

Curious? Check out his single that has recently made it into Vh1's TOP 20 video countdown, "Breathe," and a song off of his old acoustic album Songs From the Eye of the Elephant, "We Might Fall" (a personal favorite). As we get closer to the release date I will invariably post more!

Don't Steal That Yard Sign!

What better way to start up this blog than to showcase some awesome political propaganda. For those of you who reading my blog of campaigns and elections, you know know that there are few things I like more in politics than well done or unique tv campaign ads, regardless of who they are for/what they are supporting. (For those of you who did not read that blog and wish to, you can do so here). So today I give to you an ad released by Dale Peterson, a former candidate for the GOP nomination for Alabama's Agricultural Commissioner. Peterson placed third in the GOP primary, thus putting him out of the running for the position, but he still managed to release a bad-ass ad endorsing John McMillan, as only a Southern, gun toting Republican can.

Now, I do not profess to know much about Alabama politics, but I have to think that is the last we'll be seeing of Dale Peterson - why else spend money on an ad after you've dropped out if not to keep your name in people's minds? After all, there is that relatively creepy line, "Don't you wish you had Dale Peterson watching your back?" Sounds to me like we'll be seeing him again...

The Mandatory Introductory Post

Hey there folks!

As many of you know, I just finished up a semester in Amsterdam. During that time I kept a blog detailing my experiences...which I enjoyed keeping far more than I thought I would. As such, I decided to start up a more permanent blog. I've come a long way from having to force myself to write my blog for my Campaigns and Elections class over a year and a half ago.

Pass the Peanuts will be a space for me to offer my analysis and opinions on politics, pop culture, and anything else I deem interesting. (I will say that for some reason words starting with the letter P kept popping to mind tonight - I'll blame it on the late hour, my apologies if you dislike alliteration). I cannot promise any frequency of updates, but I will do my best - if I don't make promises, you won't be disappointed if I break them!

Stay tuned for the first substantive update!