I agree that the press is unlikely to challenge her for any noble reasons like actually performing their duty to vet candidates by asking them all of the questions we would, if we could. However I do think that there is a good chance that they will uncover all negative facts in her past because of our nation's obsession with all things celebrity.

There is nothing better than building someone up, watching them bask in the limelight, then pulling the rug out from under them when the lurid facts come out. All the better when it happens fast to some unknown.

Yeah I was thinking there is an opening there to point out that watching Jack Bauer beat some suspect to get info is a *fun* fantasy for escapist TV, but is not any way for a VP candidate to talk.

At some point one of the VP candidates will be asked to swear to defend the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. It is not a matter to joke about, and I think there is a serious opportunity there to put her in a very uncomfortable spot by asking her what she meant. Don't just ask her to explain her previous comments, she will be prepared for that. Ask her how far she is willing to go to get information from someone - surveillance? torture? Ask her if she knows what peoples rights are when they are charged with being a terrorist. She may be asked to swear to defend the constitution, so it is definitely fair game to ask her if she knows what rights it actually protects - you know those ones she so flippantly discards when it suits a higher purpose. I truly believe that she could make a major, profound slip up if you get her talking along this direction.

Link to it? Are you kidding? It was in her acceptance speech at the RNC, you know the televised thing that was on every major network.

By dodging the press, they dodge American voters. And it needs to be portrayed that way - LOUDLY.

WE HAVE A RIGHT TO ASK YOU QUESTIONS VIA THE PRESS!

Watching your little commercials is NOT sufficient!

Why are you afraid of us Sarah? The press is us, so if you are afraid of the press, you are afraid of us. Why are you afraid of us? Should we be afraid of you?

First, just to be, sure you need to check his scalp next time he is in the bathtub and make sure you don't see a mark anywhere that looks like "666". No? Ok, then just use a boot camp approach - break 'em down, and remold 'em. He doesn't get anything he wants, until he starts to follow orders. If he wants red and purple vitamins, no dice. He gets 2 yellow ones.

In the video that is with the story, they use shotguns and very slow flying planes, so even the challenge you wonder about is not there.

You touch on a matter that I always found a bit fishy. The claims that hunters are needed to keep the populations healthy by acting as a secondary predator. The funny thing is that the humans want to take the biggest, healthiest animal in the herd - the trophy buck with the huge rack of antlers, not the slow, old one that looks sick. That is a much different role than real predators taking the easiest target they can find.

That said, I actually have no problem with hunters who consume the game they kill. There is even a certain honesty in being willing to kill the animal you eat, rather than just buying shrink-wrapped packages at the store. I'm just pointing out what always struck me as problem with their arguments justifying hunting as valuable for strengthening the herd.

I never actually challenge anyone on those grounds though, since I am not religious and would immediately be dismissed, along with my arguments. But HOW can the religious right not be outraged by wanton destruction of life and nature just for the fun of it or based on pseudo-science rationalizations?

Similarly you might expect them to be dedicated environmentalists and conservationists, but I guess that would be getting carried away with the logic.

I am beginning to come around to the need for some sort of citizen's initiative. When the checks and balances in the existing system fail to function so badly (or don't exist in the first place), it is time to introduce a new force to balance out the existing players. Since nobody seems to give a sh!t about protecting the interests of tax paying citizens, it seems that it is time to let us have a real say by providing a mechanism that allows our voices to REALLY be heard. Yes it would be REALLY inconvenient for the congress and president to actually have us meddling in how things are done, but at least we can't be bought off by lobbyists as easily as politicians.

Real democracy might be messy, but our *representatives* are so far away from acting in our interests that maybe it is time to try some extreme measures. Representative democracy seems to be missing the representative part

I kind of fear that it is a Pandora's box, but right now the lobbyists have more of a say in the way things are run, but it is our country not theirs, and they don't pay the f*ing bills. We do.

I am phoning, writing blogs, posting, emailing and praying. Things I have never done.

So you've never used a phone? emailed? prayed? Yeah, sure, whatever you say.

Clever tactic, who would pick on an old man? He's just so inspired by the authenticity of McCain, he MUST be authentic. Just like Sarah, she's an authentic M-A-V-E-R-I-C-K. No, really... Why are you laughing?