11708: Sarah Palin And MLK.

MLK Day would not be complete without color commentary from Sarah Palin.

10649: More Jive From Sarah Palin.

From The New York Daily News…

Sarah Palin blasts Obama for ‘shuck and jive’ response to Libyan U.S. consulate attack, draws ire for racially loaded term

The former Alaska governor tweeted the swipe after reports confirmed the White House learned a jihadist group had claimed responsibility soon afterward for the attack that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

By Erik Ortiz / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Sarah Palin took a notable swipe at President Obama on Wednesday, accusing him of ignoring early email warnings that a terror group had taken responsibility for the deadly protest last month at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

But Palin’s choice of words in her online post — that Obama did a “shuck and jive” in handling the attack — outraged some social media users for its racial connotation.

“Why the lies? Why the cover up?” Palin wrote on Facebook, adding, “We deserve answers to this. President Obama’s shuck and jive shtick with these Benghazi lies must end.”

The former GOP vice presidential candidate also used “shuck and jive” in the headline of her note.

“How very racist and stereotyped you are!” blasted Twitter user @pat1944. “Thank God you never got to be a heart beat away from the president!”

CNN contributor Roland Martin wrote in 2008 that the “shuck and jive” term dates back to the 1870s and was an “originally southern ‘Negro’ expression for clowning, lying, pretense,” according to the book “Juba to Jive.”

“‘Shucking and jiving’ have long been words used as a negative assessment of African Americans, along the lines of a ‘foot shufflin’ Negro,’” Martin wrote. “In fact, I don’t recall ever hearing the phrase used in reference to anyone white.”

Martin, at the time, was responding to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, then the state attorney general, who used “shuck and jive” in reference to the Democratic primary race between front-runners Obama and Hillary Clinton. Cuomo later said he wasn’t referencing Obama.

Meanwhile, Palin’s use of those same words “shows her ignorance” and distracts from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign, said Christina Greer, a political science professor at Fordham University.

“As a governor, she should know the meaning behind it. Alaska has a very historic black population,” Greer said, adding that the use of loaded language is “what happens when people get desperate.”

Palin has been criticized before for other comments deemed insensitive. She said in a video posted online last year that she was the victim of “blood libel” after critics blamed her rhetoric following the deadly shooting in Arizona that seriously wounded then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

The term “blood libel” historically has been used to describe accusations that Jews kill Christian children for religious rituals, and the word choice was considered inflammatory since Giffords is Jewish.

Palin aide Rebecca Mansour told ABC News that the ex-governor’s latest word play was meant only as a “common phrase that means to manipulatively dodge an issue.”

She added that White House spokesman Jay Carney also used the term in a 2011 press briefing. Carney was referencing himself.

Some on Twitter defended Palin while blasting the Obama administration for not acting faster against the jihadist group that claimed responsibility for the consulate attack in Libya on Sept. 11, in which U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed.

“Sara Palin is, of course, correct,” tweeted @Docjp. “But the psychology of Obama will not permit him to be wrong... even when he is ... .”

Jamie Chandler, political science professor at Hunter College, said campaign rhetoric will only become more heated as Election Day draws near.

“The Ann Coulters and the Sarah Palins will have a diminishing effect as we get closer to the election, because the Republican Party wants to get more moderate,” Chandler said.

“The legitimate surrogates will continue echoing the message of the campaign,” he added.

8843: Top Ten Captions.

10. Dumber and Dumber.

9. Trump turns to Palin for hair care tips.

8. Palin turns to Trump’s wife for beauty tips.

7. “Sarah, I’ll help you win The Blacks vote.”

6. Bankruptcy Expert and Morally Bankrupt Expert.

5. Somebody owes Dan Quayle an apology.

4. Trump and Palin consider teaming up—for Dancing with the Stars.

3. The Donald and The Dimwit.

2. The Tea Party Dream Team.

1. Two people who will never be president.

8302: Gaga Ladies.

Saw the image above illustrating a news feature and couldn’t help but realize Lady Gaga is the least gaga person in the group.

8186: Profiles Of Stupidity.

Weekend news in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Sarah Palin thinks airport security should “profile away” when facing suspicious people at security gates. Via Twitter, Palin wrote, “law enforcement profiles individuals/suspects when seeking info 2 prevent or deal w/other crimes; why can’t this be done @aiport 2 prevent?” Let’s hope Palin’s next TSA patdown includes a whack 2 her empty head.

• A Florida judge ordered Wesley Snipes to start his jail sentence for a felony tax conviction. So far, Snipes has managed to avoid paying taxes and avoid paying for his crimes.

• A Los Angeles Times/USC poll showed Latinos and Asians are significantly more concerned about the environment than Whites. Probably because they’re doing a lot more of the outdoor labor.

• Pope Benedict XVI said using condoms could be justified in certain cases, like male prostitutes seeking to prevent the spread of HIV. Also, pedophile priests could… oh, never mind.

7889: Don’t Retreat…Retweet.

Tweeting and Assorted Birdbrains in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Sarah Palin came out in defense of Dr. Laura Schlessinger. The former vice-presidential candidate tweeted supportive phrases like, “Dr. Laura: Don’t retreat…reload.” Palin added, “Dr.Laura=even more powerful & effective w/out the shackles, so watch out Constitutional obstructionists. And b thankful 4 her voice, America!” Um, Schlessinger and shackles should not appear in the same sentence.

• A poll showed nearly one in five Americans think President Barack Obama is a Muslim. The same group also believes Sarah Palin is a genius and Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a civil rights activist.

• A Muslim hostess at a Disney-owned restaurant filed a discrimination complaint, charging she was sent home for refusing to remove her hijab. No word if she attends services with President Obama.

7493: Politically Incorrect.

Colored commentary in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Harry “Negro Dialect” Reid is in the news again, this time for a Black History Month essay that appeared on his website. In the piece (featuring the clichéd title, “Black history is American history”), Reid claims to have helped integrate Las Vegas. Problem is, historians and people actually involved in the actions don’t recall Reid participating at all. Reid will probably also insist he partnered with Carter G. Woodson to introduce Negro History Week.

• Sarah Palin is demanding the firing of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel for making a remark she said is offensive to people with developmental disabilities. In a January Wall Street Journal story, Emanuel called plans by liberal groups to run ads against moderate Democrats “Fucking retarded.” Emanuel has officially apologized for the statement. He probably meant to say the plans were “Fucking Palinesque.”

6979: Medals And Metals.

TGIF with a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• President Barack Obama will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 16 people he called “agents of change,” including Harvey Milk, Jack Kemp, Sidney Poitier and Desmond Tutu. “These outstanding men and women represent an incredible diversity of backgrounds,” said Obama. “Yet they share one overarching trait: Each has been an agent of change. Each saw an imperfect world and set about improving it, often overcoming great obstacles along the way. Their relentless devotion to breaking down barriers and lifting up their fellow citizens sets a standard to which we all should strive.” Hey, have any advertising people ever received the honor—or are they resigned to settle for an ADCOLOR® Award?

• Alaska Natives filed a lawsuit to stop drilling and exploration for a copper and gold mine above a wild salmon sanctuary, charging the action would violate the state’s Constitution by letting things move forward without full environmental review. Wonder if former Governor Sarah “Drill, Baby, Drill” Palin even knows what Alaska Natives are.

6846: More Sorry Acts.

Saying you’re sorry in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• What the hell is the matter with GOP morons? An executive assistant for Tennessee State Rep. Diane Black emailed the “Historical Keepsake Photo” depicted above. Wonder if she sent it to GOP activist Rusty DePass.

• David Letterman said he was sincerely sorry to Governor Sarah Palin and her family for his recent offensive joke. Palin accepted the apology. But the GOP still holds a commanding lead in the offensive jokes category for the week.

6627: Drill, Baby, Drill…?

What would Governor Sarah Palin have to say about this?

6068: Endorsement Assortment.

Endorsing the news in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Barack Obama picked up endorsements from The Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and The New York Daily News. Gov. Sarah Palin reportedly stopped reading the news about the election because it depressed her. That’s understandable.

• Former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama, calling him a “transformational figure.” Powell remarked on NBC’s Meet The Press, “It isn’t easy for me to disappoint Sen. McCain in the way that I have this morning, and I regret that. But I firmly believe that at this point in America’s history, we need a president that will not just continue, even with a new face and with the changes and with some maverick aspects, who will not just continue basically the policies that we have been following in recent years. I think we need a transformational figure. I think we need a president who is a generational change and that’s why I’m supporting Barack Obama, not out of any lack of respect or admiration for Sen. John McCain.” Gov. Sarah Palin will probably stop watching the news about the election too.

• Soul Train creator Don Cornelius was arrested Friday evening on suspicion of felony domestic violence. It wasn’t clear whom Cornelius might have assaulted. But it’s a safe bet Gov. Sarah Palin will try to connect Cornelius to Obama.

6045: Reservations For Maverick Pit Bulls.

Looks like Sarah Palin’s campaigning on the road…

5920: The Humane Society Is Full Of Dogshit.

As noted in a previous post, Governor Sarah Palin made a derogatory comment that has actually been embraced by the media. During her speech at the Republican National Convention, Palin quipped, “Do you know the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.”

Seems like a pretty innocent joke. Yet when Verizon Wireless presented a commercial depicting pit bulls as brutal beasts requiring chains, the Humane Society, the ASPCA and PETA viciously attacked the advertiser, forcing the removal of the spot. Plus, a spokeswoman for the Humane Society went so far as to post comments at Adrants defending the disdain.

So where’s the moral outrage now? Sarah Palin has negatively labeled pit bulls—and created far more publicity than Verizon Wireless could ever hope to match—but the animal activists are quiet as a mouse. Although not the screeching mice used in obscene lab experiments that immediately receive support from the Humane Society and others. Besides a vague blog entry at a site called fetchdog.com, there are virtually zero complaints from the typically irate dog fans.

Maybe the animal lovers are plotting upcoming strikes, and we can expect to see protestors at the next Palin campaign stop. Or PETA will run print ads comparing Palin’s words to slurs and atrocities against women. The possibilities are endless.

Or more likely, the groups realize that confronting Palin would be a bad political move, potentially leading to a backlash that might adversely affect donations.

Slamming an advertiser is easy game, like shooting fish in a barrel. But the Humane Society, the ASPCA and PETA are not about to bite the hands that feed them.

Which just makes them full of shit—excreted from all animal buttholes.

Cartoon above by Dana Summers, Orlando Sentinel.

5919: Oprah! Oprah! Oprah!

An Oprah-filled MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Oprah officially announced she won’t invite Sarah Palin to be a guest on her iconic TV show until after the election. A statement read, “There has been absolutely no discussion about having Sarah Palin on my show. At the beginning of this Presidential campaign when I decided that I was going to take my first public stance in support of a candidate, I made the decision not to use my show as a platform for any of the candidates. I agree that Sarah Palin would be a fantastic interview, and I would love to have her on after the campaign is over.” Wonder if Ellen DeGeneres will be dancing with Palin anytime soon.

• Marion Jones was released from federal prison, after serving a six-month sentence for lying to federal agents investigating doping charges. Now she has to complete 800 hours of community service. Wonder if Jones will appear on Oprah’s show anytime soon.

• Hip hop artist Ludacris is embracing his real name for film roles. “[Acting] is a different business, and I do want to be taken seriously, so it’s back to being Chris Bridges,” explained Chris Bridges. Funny, most Hollywood actors change their real names to something flashier, yet hip hop artists feel the need to go the opposite direction. Also, definitely don’t expect Ludaris/Chris Bridges to appear on Oprah’s show anytime soon.

5907: Dogging Out Sarah Palin.

During her speech at the Republican National Convention, Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin joked, “Do you know the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.”

Look for the Humane Society, the ASPCA, PETA and Avon sales representatives to demand Palin’s resignation.

5901: VP=Very Pretty…?

From The Chicago Tribune…

Palin faces a cultural crucible
As VP hopeful prepares to take center stage, Tribune cultural critic Julia Keller weighs the role of sexism in the national conversation

By Julia Keller, Cultural Critic

She’s hunted moose at midnight without batting an eyelash, but Sarah Palin now finds herself up against the biggest beast of all: cultural expectations for women.

The Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential hopeful is expected to address her party’s national convention Wednesday night. But that’s not her toughest challenge.

Unlike a previous generation of female politicians—such as Nancy Pelosi, 68, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, or even Sen. Hillary Clinton, 60, runner-up to Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination—the 44-year-old Palin is beset by questions, apprehensions, opinions, assumptions and accusations that her older countrywomen rarely faced.

Palin has won a beauty pageant and caught salmon. She runs and she hunts and she races snowmobiles. She’s at home on a rifle range—and in front of a kitchen range. She and her husband, Todd Palin, are raising five children, including one with Down syndrome. She’s part Annie Oakley, part Anita Bryant.

And Palin is young and pretty, in what some commentators have referred to as a “sexy librarian” sort of way. But does pointing that out constitute sexism?

“How do you talk about women candidates without mentioning that they’re—well, women?” muses Nancy Pearl, Seattle-based librarian and author of “Book Lust” (2003) who writes often about images of professional women.

“And then,” she adds, “how can you not talk about how sexy they are or aren’t?”

Once Sen. John McCain’s pick was confirmed Friday, blogs began to twitch and burble with descriptions such as “smokin’ hot” and “easy on the eyes.” Then came the backlash: How dare Palin seek such a demanding office while being responsible for five children? When news broke this week that Bristol, Palin’s unmarried 17-year-old daughter, is five months pregnant, the cyber-scythes began to swing higher and wider.

Never mind that many male politicians have large families and are rarely challenged about their ability to balance work and family. Or that many American families have dealt with the pregnancies of teenage daughters.

‘Role reversal’
With the Palin pick, the nation is entering unknown territory—and not just because she hails from Alaska.

Carol Felsenthal, Chicago-based author of this year’s “Clinton in Exile,” points out that Palin is turning traditional ideological stances upside down—another measure of the unprecedented nature of what the aspiring vice president represents.

“There’s such a role reversa” Felsenthal says. “You have this conservative, pro-life Republican woman—but it’s the liberal Democrats who are saying, ‘But who’s going to take care of the children?’”

Felsenthal also notes that both Sen. Joe Biden, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, and Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, a Republican said to have been on McCain’s short list for the VP spot, have mentioned their wives’ physical attractiveness in public, along with chuckling references to their own homeliness.

How comfortable would we be with a female candidate who referred to a hunky husband and her own dowdiness?

To be or not to be pretty
Physical beauty has been a significant issue in political campaigns since the advent of television. As many historians note, a skinny, unkempt, horse-faced fellow named Abraham Lincoln probably would not fare very well in electoral politics in this age of “Larry King Live” and the endless open faucet known as YouTube. In previous centuries, few people knew what a public figure actually looked like. Today, however, it’s hard to escape the constant images of candidates.

And that cuts both ways for female politicians. Being attractive is generally better than being unattractive, but women often find their appearance listed ahead of their ambitions or accomplishments.

“When a woman’s looks are mentioned, some people say, ‘Well, that’s just life,’” says Leonard Kniffel, editor in chief of American Libraries, the magazine of the Chicago-based American Library Association. “But women, many times, are judged first on their looks.” Indeed, bloggers elbowed each other out of the way to be the first to note Palin’s resemblance to actor and writer Tina Fey—another smart, accomplished woman who wears glasses.

Kniffel said he wasn’t bothered by those who cited Palin’s “sexy librarian” look. “I was delighted and I laughed.”

New and different roles for women can induce discomfort and anxiety in some people—just as does, sadly, the prospect of an African-American president. But this is, by most accounts, an election year in which the hunger for change is a crucial factor. And with the Palin pick, both political parties are now offering a vigorous variation of the same old thing.

What if Palin proves to be a great vice president—but a lousy mother? It sounds like a reasonable question — until you realize that it would rarely, if ever, be asked about a man.