Is Gov. Sarah Palin riding the "Juno" popularity train?
I wrote a blog post last week about the new eyewear craze spawned by Gov. Sarah Palin's rimless titanium glasses.
And at the end of the eyewear piece, I wrote that I hoped pregnant teenage daughters would not be the next Palin-inspired trend.
I thought it was a sort of amusing -- and perhaps thought-provoking -- kicker. Many readers clearly did not. I was called "unprofessional," "out of line." I was accused of having taken a "cheep shot" [sic], being rude, being a disgrace to journalism, having never having had sex, and being unethical journalistic scum.
And those were the nice comments.
Despite the reader reactions, I still don't think it's wrong to talk about the impact of a vice presidential candidate's unwed pregnant teenage daughter as a role model for young women. And I also think that a discussion about the pregnancy of Palin's daughter, and how it may affect the election, is an important conversation to have.
Some pundits are now drawing a comparison between the success of the teenage-pregnancy film "Juno" and Palin's popularity. Click here to see the "Juno/Juneau" Palin parody poster.
But only if you have a sense of humor.
Journalist Robert Wright, the author of several books on science, evolution, psychology, history and religion, such as "The Moral Animal," and "Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny," thinks that the pregnancy of Palin's 17-year-old daughter matters and is defintely worth discussing.
And he makes a pretty convincing argument. He even convinced Mickey Kaus! Click here to watch and listen at bloggingheadstv.com
What do you think? Does the pregnancy of Palin's daughter matter to you? Should it? Are you concerned that it will send the wrong message to young girls?
Or does it send a message of family unity and support?
And did you actually enjoy "Juno?"
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Hated it, honest to blog. No doubt would hate "Juneau," too.
Funny poster, though. Did you see the news clip where John McCain kept giving the teenage father the old "attaboy" pat on the arm?
Of course Sarah Palin's daughter's pregnancy is a pertinent conversation to have. The hypocrisy of the Republicans with their supposed "family values" is appalling. The way they're cloaking this into a show of family unity is laughable. The poster is hilarious and insightful.
And yes-I did like Juno-for the comic value-the message was screwy-but we do live in a free society with freedom of expression so there you go!
Surely every mother will feel it is sending the WRONG message to teenage girls!
It is NOT OK to reassure them that since a prominently public family is approving the situation it is alright for all young girls to have unlimited out of wedlock sex.
Everyone is tip-toeing around the issue of Alaska Governor Palin's 17 year old daughter Bristol becoming pregnant by her 18 year old boyfriend. We are being told "it's a family matter that shouldn't be in the press and that the couple plans to be married".
Well, let me bring this issue to the fore front.
The majority of states in America today have laws / statues where consensual sex with a minor result in a statutory rape conviction, usually by that states Attorney General. A conviction is followed by a minimum of ten years living as a registered sex offender.
Is this not the law in Alaska? If so, how has Alaska avoided making it so?
If it is the law in Alaska then why hasn't the Alaska Attorney General filed charges against Bristol's boyfriend? Perhaps, it's because it's the governor's daughter who's pregnant?
I'll ask the same question in regards to Britney Spears little sister, Jamie Lynn Spears. Why was her boyfriend not charged with rape resulting in prison time and the requirement that he register as a sex-offender for the next ten years?
There is a double standard that celebrities and political families get special legal treatment but regular Americans are being stigmatized and persecuted for the rest of their lives for the very same acts.
Americans need to take a close look at the current sex-offender qualifications. Should an 18 year old who has consensual sex with their 17, 16 or 15 year old partner face the stigma of being a registered sex-offender?
In America the majority of people believe if you are a registered sex-offender then you are a child molester, a pedophile and a pervert.
There are thousands of innocent people who are being forced to become a registered sex-offender every year.
Public urination and "mooning" are both convictions that will also land you on the registry for a minimum of ten years.
When you are a registered sex-offender, you struggle to find and keep housing, employment and your family because of the stress and humiliation that the registry creates within yourself, your neighbors, your co-workers and vigilantes looking for justice for a victim they don't even know.
In some states like Virginia the accusation of being "touched" is sufficient for prosecution with a sentence of life plus 20 years in prison. The state does not require physical evidence, a witness or that the accuser be mentally evaluated and it doesn't matter if the accuser has a history of lying, that's "inadmissible" Virginia even enters the "accusation" as evidence in court!
In Virginia, they prosecute every accusation which means a conviction every time and jail time is highly likely unless you plead "guilty".
I am not supporting these current laws, statues or the existence of the sex-offender registry,
I want all Americans to know what laws are in existence today, how unfair and appalling they are and stand up and say "No more".
Maybe if a few celebrities and political families have to endure the demonization of being a registered sex-offender, these ridiculous laws would be eliminated.