1. Introduction
It’s obvious why Sarah Palin got the VP nod. And Saturday Night Live makes this point most brilliantly: Hillary Clinton.

2. Sarah Palin On The Environment
Just one day before being picked as the GOP vice president, she wrote a letter to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urging him to shoot down policy aimed at pollution.

3. Sarah Palin On Ethics
Palin’s record is already dirty enough to warrant a trip to the free clinic, and that’s just as Governor! What is she capable of if elected as VP?

4. Sarah Palin On Energy and Big Oil
Sarah Palin dismisses alternative energy in favor of a pipeline built by God.

5. Sarah Palin On Foreign Policy
Colin Powell is jumping party lines because of Palin - can we afford her on the job training?

Image Credit: bobster1985 via flickr

<< Previous Post: Big Oil, Part Four

Is it gross - sure. Yet the picture sums up the last eight years of foreign policy quite nicely, don’t ya think? We’ve suffered through too much of this cowboy politics crap (pun intended) to allow it to happen again.

But that’s exactly what we’re getting with Palin - more crap! Hell, even Colin Powell is jumping party lines because of this lady. It’s the same political myopia as George W. but with a nicer rack. For example, how could any politician admit to not focusing on the war in Iraq…much? What has she been doing since 2003? And can we afford another administration who thinks God speaks to them? Seriously, that kinda thing never really works out for the best.

More on Palin >>

From Think Progress

Palin Hasn’t Given The War In Iraq Much Thought. Palin told the Alaska Business Monthly, “I’ve been so focused on state government, I haven’t really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place.” [Alaska Business Monthly, 3/1/07]

Palin Has Never Been To Iraq. In her only trip overseas, Palin visited Alaska National Guard troops stationed in Kuwait and Germany in July 2007. [AP, 7/25/07]

Palin Believes That The Iraq War Is A Task ‘From God.’ Speaking at the Wasilla Assembly of God church in June, Palin said that “our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God.” [Huffington Post, 9/2/08]

Palin Believes The Iraq War Was Fought Over Oil. “We are a nation at war and in many [ways] the reasons for war are fights over energy sources,” Palin told BusinessWeek in an interview. [BusinessWeek, 8/29/08]

Palin Didn’t Have A Passport Until 2007. Palin first obtained a passport in July 2007 for her trip to Kuwait and Germany to visit Alaska National Guard troops. Her only other trips outside of the United States have been to Canada and Mexico. A Palin spokeswoman had previously said that Palin had also been to Ireland, although it was actually just a “refueling stop” on her Germany/Kuwait trip. [New York Times, 8/29/08; Politico, 9/2/08; ABC News, 9/12/08]

Palin Has Never Issued An Order To The Alaska National Guard. Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, the service commander of the Alaska National Guard, has stated that Palin has never personally ordered the National Guard to do anything. [McClatchy, 9/4/08]

Palin Is Unaware Of The Bush Doctrine. During an interview with ABC’s Charlie Gibson, Palin was stumped about the Bush Doctrine, thinking it was the President’s “worldview.” [ABC News, 9/11/08]

Related posts:

Amy Poehler does the ‘Sarah Palin Rap’ on SNL [w/ video]
Palin Protests Federal Listing of Beluga Whales as Endangered
Setting the Record Straight: Sarah Palin and the Bridge to Nowhere

Image source: saintbob on Flickr

After looking on Wikipedia, I learned that there are approximately 6,400 species of katydids around the world. I wanted to see more of these fascinating insects, and so I searched for photos on Flickr. What you see here are some of the more beautiful and interesting photos I found, combined with several of my own.

Read more of this story »

Don Bosch is the author and managing editor of the blog, The Evangelical Ecologist.

What motivated you to begin blogging about Christian environmentalism?
I became a Christian on a beautiful Oregon beach in 1978, and ecology has been calling since 1990. I started The Evangelical Ecologist in 2004 because I didn't see a lot of green evangelical thought onto the web, and wanted to help fellow Christians find trustworthy environmental information and resources.

What are some myths surrounding Christian environmentalism, and why aren't they true?
How about "Christians don't care about the environment?" I haven't met anybody, Christian or not, who thinks trashing the planet is a good idea. We might disagree on environmental approaches but I've never found Christians rejecting the need for it. Likewise, dominionism - polluting earth because we're in charge of it - is a myth perpetuated more in secular circles than the Church. Another is that Christian ecology is relatively new. Mendel was studying peas in a monastery 150 years ago. John Muir was a Christian. St. Francis and Francis Schaeffer, Mennonites and the Amish; all were green way before it was popular.

What are your personal motivations for environmental stewardship? Religion? Social justice?
Religion and social justice are human constructs. My relationship with God and what he made motivates me, and so does using ecology as common ground to share God's love with non-Christians. We're called to love God with all we've got and love our neighbor as ourselves. And all living things by extension.

Are Christians motivated differently than secular environmentalists?
We're all recycling and swapping light bulbs and driving less, so it's not so much "what" than "why." Look at all the religious terms used in secular discussions on the environment! People want a moral basis for ecology regardless of their faith, but Christians actually have one. God made the universe. He gave the earth to people to take care of it. Adam disobeyed God and brought sin and death into the world, bringing on a pollution problem (among other things). Christ's death on the cross dealt with that sin, and gave us an opportunity to restore our relationship with our Creator. Christians believe Jesus will return someday, and we know he'd better find us busy at creation care and His other business when he does. Ecology is entirely consistent with and supported by the Bible.

Do you think there is an unfulfilled desire among conservative Christians for broader faith-based environmental movements?
Yep. Christians approach ecology carefully because of things like population control, radicalism, bloated government, humanism, and earth (Gaia) worship that have been associated with the movement over the past 30 years. Christians will get more involved as they find ways to do so without compromising their faith. When they see how pollution harms unborn babies for instance, they realize pro-green is pro-life. By the way, most Christians treat ecology the same way they tithe; it's a personal thing they do quietly. A movement? Maybe not like you're thinking of it.

What about the Christians' role in the global warming debate?
We need to be engaged and we need to get smarter. I chuckle when some call global warming a moral issue, but it frankly troubles me when religious leaders do. We mustn't mistake scientific hypothesis for moral truth. Christian ethics bring us to the table but we need to listen to sound, scientific arguments both pro/con to do what's effective for the climate without ignoring moral issues like energy needs and poverty. Reduce greenhouse gasses, sure, but calling CO2 "sinful" only gets everyone hot under the collar.

Anything else?
I wrote a series called, "The Uniqueness of Christian Ecology," and an article called, Knowing the Gardener that might be useful to folks wanting to know more about Christians and ecology.