Rare mid-work blog

So, I'm sitting at work right now on my lunch break. Yeah, I leave work an hour after I get 'back' from lunch and I'm not eating, but I still call this lunch.

I was reading online, and I found a couple of things I wanted to note and comment on:

• Another high-profile endorsement for Obama. Really? former Reagan chief of staff Ken Duberstein? Yup, Ken Dubertein!
  

• And again, another endorsement, this time from The Economist.

• It seems the media is attacking Sarah Palin's freedom of speech. Or at least that is how she see it. I thank Glenn Greenwald for putting words together so well.

If anything, Palin has this exactly backwards, since one thing that the First Amendment does actually guarantee is a free press. Thus, when the press criticizes a political candidate and a Governor such as Palin, that is a classic example of First Amendment rights being exercised, not abridged.

This isn't only about profound ignorance regarding our basic liberties, though it is obviously that. Palin here is also giving voice here to the standard right-wing grievance instinct: that it's inherently unfair when they're criticized. And now, apparently, it's even unconstitutional.

According to Palin, what the Founders intended with the First Amendment was that political candidates for the most powerful offices in the country and Governors of states would be free to say whatever they want without being criticized in the newspapers. The First Amendment was meant to ensure that powerful political officials would not be "attacked" in the papers. It is even possible to imagine more breathaking ignorance from someone holding high office and running for even higher office?

And just for a certain former professor of mine:

"Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, or to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

Okay, so I typed that from memory, and it wasn't as easy as it used to be. Did I get it close. Well, not an A+, but a passing grade. I screwed up several articles, messed up the punctuation and didn't capitalize government. Do I still pass Mr. Siebert?

Here is how it actually reads:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

• I would like to see both McCain and Obama on SNL this Saturday. How great for a country could it be that these two men and come together, laugh with America (most likely at themselves) while shilling for those last few votes? At least McCain will be there, it seems.
  

• Have you had enough of Obama after his 30 minute 'infomercial' or all the other ads? Well it seems the young people (and other viewers of the Daily Show) couldn't get enough.

Well back to work for me! Yay!