TTTTT H H EEEEE
T H H E
T HHHHH EEEEE
T H H E
T H H EEEEE
PPPP OOOO RRRR TTTTT L A N N DDDD I A N N TM
P P O O R R T L A A NN N D D I A A NN N
PPPP O O RRRR T L AAAAA N N N D D I AAAAA N N N
P O O R R T L A A N NN D D I A A N NN
P OOOO R R T LLLLL A A N N DDDD I A A N N
*****************************************************************
The Portlandian, the Internet's premier source of Tonya News
September 23, 2008 Edition
(C) 2008 Portland Ice Skating Society
http://www.geocities.com/portice
*****************************************************************
Welcome to another issue. This time we find that Tonya is in the
record books again and gets a liitle bit country. We take an in-
depth look at Tonya's media blitz to promote her new book and
check out a band that have written a song about Tonya. And it
seems that the real "Tonya Harding candidate" in the U.S.
election has finally emerged.
THE WORLD'S FASTEST TONYA
Tonya was at the Bonneville Salt Flats last month, for Speed
Week. For those of you who might not be familiar with this, the
salt flats are a large salt-covered area in Utah that has
frequently been used over several decades by those wishing to set
land speed records in modified or custom-built cars. Every year,
usually around August, depending on the condition of the salt, a
group of hot-rod enthusiasts called the Southern California
Timing Association hold an event at which they conduct these
record attempts. The event draws participants from all around the
world - even as far away as New Zealand, as was recently shown in
the 2005 film "The World's Fastest Indian".
She wasn't there as a spectator, however, but as a driver,
competing in the Vintage Gas Coup Class. A friend of hers has a
souped-up 1930's coupe that was competing there, and also
allowed Tonya to borrow the car to make her own record attempt.
On Monday, Tonya did a qualifying run of 79.1 mph. On Tuesday,
she did a second run, at 83.618 mph, establishing a record of
81.37 mph, from the two runs. She is the first person to drive a
1931 vintage gas coup on the Salt Flats, to establish a land
speed record. Also, this is the first time that a vintage gas
coupe has competed at a SCTA-BNI sanctioned event.
The car, named Licket-Split, is owned by Yacolt WA resident Pete
Richardson. It's a 1931 stock body Model A coupe, powered by a
1932 4-cylinder flathead, with few modifications.
Once again, Tonya Harding is in the record books for being the
first to accomplish something no one else has done.
TONYA IN THE COUNTRY MUSIC CAPITAL
Nashville's Tennessean newspaper reports that Tonya was in that
city at the end of July, recording a country song at Gene Breeden
Studios. Linda Lewis tells us that the song, written by Linda and
her husband Greg, is entitled "When We Shared Each Others Lives",
and was actually previously recorded by Tonya several years ago.
No word on a possible release date at this stage.
TONYA BIOGRAPHY HITS THE SHELVES
Tonya's long-awaited official biography, "The Tonya Tapes", is
now available for order. Author Lynda Prouse has written several
other skating books, and the cover was designed by an Aussie
outfit, http://www.mockfrog.com.au. Further details can be found
at the publisher's official web site for the book at:
http://worldaudience.powweb.com/pubs_bks/TonyaHarding.html
Mostly written around the 1999-2001 period, with an update in
2007, it follows a question and answer format, and is divided
into chapters such as "Boyfriends, Husbands, & Horror," "1994
Nationals - The Whack Heard Round the World," and "Making
Television History - Skating at the Olympics." It also features
many photos, alot of which have never been seen before. A major
theme that has come through in interviews Tonya has done about
the book is her desire to get those who are victims of abuse to
speak up.
Unquestionably the most eagerly anticipated aspect of this book
has been that Tonya is finally able to fully tell her side of the
events surrounding the Kerrigan incident, in particular a
detailed account of what occurred in the days afterward. And it
doesn't make for pleasant reading: Tonya reveals that shortly
after her return to Portland, she first learned of the plot after
she overheard her ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, talking with one of
the conspirators. Gillooly and two of his friends later took her
out into a remote spot, raped her, put a gun to her head and
threatened to kill her if she revealed what she knew.
One reviewer had the following reaction:
http://www.lifeskate.com/skate/2008/05/book-review-the.html
I vote yes primarily because of the way the book is presented.
Much of what I remember about Harding is when she would read
prepared statements in court, to the media, to the public, and
they were always short, stilted and awkward. .... There is
something appealing about reading Harding's words unfiltered
and hearing her story strictly in her own voice. Whatever your
opinion is of Harding, she is undeniably one of the most
recognized names of our time and if I have the opportunity to
understand her a little better by reading her words, I'll take
it.
"Her overall message in the book seems to be that she has been
grossly misunderstood, a victim for most of her life, and it
is time to start anew and regain her life. She is also of the
belief that if she can help one person who's also a victim of
abuse to come forward and seek help, which is something she
never did, then she is satisfied with her life."
SOURCES
You can order it via the publisher's own on-line store, though
they don't appear to have international shipping. Recommended
price is $US18:99, plus postage:
http://www.shoppalstores.com/WorldAudience/index.cfm/fa/items.main/parentcat/25886/subcatid/0/id/341922
Other outlets include:
http://www.amazon.com/Tonya-Tapes-Lynda-Prouse/dp/1934209805/ref=sr_11_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1209752125&sr=11-1 ($17:09)
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Tonya-Tapes/Lynda-Prouse/e/9781934209806/?itm=1
Both are offering it for $17.09, the cheapest we've seen so far.
For those in Europe, copies can also be ordered via Amazon's
outlets in the UK, France and Germany. Cost is around 10 UK
Pounds or 14 Euros, plus shipping. These copies are printed in
the UK for expedited delivery.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1934209805/sr=11-1/qid=1209752295/ref=olp_product_details/026-5689533-3862840?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1209752295&sr=11-1&seller=
http://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/1934209805/sr=1-5/qid=1210355003/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1210355003&sr=1-5&seller=
http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/1934209805/sr=1-1/qid=1210355108/ref=olp_product_details/303-3914074-3062656?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1210355108&sr=1-1&seller=
In Canada, you can get it from Amazon.ca, it's around $CAN20:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/1934209805/ref=nosim/directextb-20
In Australia, Booktopia has it for $AU39:50 - not sure if this
includes shipping:
http://www.booktopia.com.au/the-tonya-tapes/prod9781934209806.html
In South Africa, you can get it from loot.co.za. Price is 265
Rand: http://www2.loot.co.za/shop/product.jsp?lsn=1934209805
directtextbook.com also has other outlets and a handy price
comparison engine:
http://www.directtextbook.com/prices/1934209805
PROMOTION
In the wake of the book's release, Tonya has embarked on an
extensive promotional campaign over the past few months, giving
numerous interviews in all media, from radio, print, TV, and the
web. We've attempted to build a comprehensive list of all of
these that are available on-line:
NBC "TODAY"
One of Tonya's first appearnces was an interview on NBC's "Today"
show. In it she reveals some rather horrifying details about what
happened in the days after she returned home from the 1994
Nationals:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24645352/
This was followed by a short interview on MSNBC with Tamron Hall:
http://mediamatters.org/items/200805150005
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoW3y6hsMsQ
This, frankly, was pretty disappointing - it only goes for a few
seconds and Tonya is asked the same question (about the
comparison between her and Hillary Clinton) as she was asked on
the Today interview. I think her answer - that the candidates
should concentrate on the important issues rather than smearing
her name - is far more intelligent than the interview itself,
which seems to be a complete waste of time. It's certainly a far
more intelligent answer than that of most other celebrities, many
of whom waste no opportunity to ram their uninvited political
views down the public's throat at every opportunity.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Here's another video interview, this time with the Associated
Press. Looks like it was done the same day as the Today
interview. Sound is pretty poor, unfortunately:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlGYfFaGhiI
PEOPLE MAGAZINE
This article from Tonya's hometown paper gives details of a photo
shoot that Tonya did for "People" magazine:
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/05/05192008_Off-Beat-All-the-fuss-for-a-magazine--and-what-does-the-paper-get.cfm
I can't say I blame her for brushing off The Columbian, given
that they were the outfit that published the non-story about the
gunshots a few months ago. Guess they'll have to go back to
writing about the really big news in Clark County that they
normally cover, like "dog wees on fire hydrant", or suchlike. The
"People" article itself is available at:
http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20204048,00.html
Interestingly, it seems to suggest that she's finally gone cold
on boxing:
These days, life includes occasional visits to the closest
rink ("Within half an hour, I'm doing double jumps!" she
says), spending time with her new boyfriend and black Lab
puppy and coping with the local wildlife. (Frightened after a
raccoon "hissed at me," she shot him and "kept a souvenir.")
Money is tight, but she hopes gigs like doing commentary on
truTV's The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest will keep
her from having to box again: "It's not me."
EXTRA TONIGHT
Tonya also appeared on something called "Extra Tonight", which
appears to be some kind of "Entertainment Tonight"-type show. It
is available on-line at:
http://extratv.warnerbros.com/2008/05/hardings_hard_times.php
http://extratv.warnerbros.com/2008/05/tonya_harding.php
KPAM
Tonya was interviewed by Bob Miller on KPAM again (Tonya was on
this show a few months ago being interviewed about the rock
opera):
http://207.126.125.163/upload/file/32800%20Tonya%20Harding%20The%20Tonya%20Tapes.mp3
FOX & FRIENDS
Tonya appeared on "Fox and Friends" on the Fox News channel. The
video is available at the Fox News site and also on YouTube:
http://www.foxnews.com/foxfriends/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ptKFHR0ACI
TRUTV
Tonya was also talking on TruTV about the book as well:
http://www.trutv.com/video/hollywood-heat/the-tonya-tapes.html
SEVEN NETWORK, AUSTRALIA
Tonya's interviews have not been confined to the U.S. She was on
Network Seven Australia's "Sunrise" show:
http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/sunrise/
The interview is now also on-line (Tonya gives a big thank you to
the Aussie guy who designed her book cover):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqUF-3paP54
TONYA ON THE RADIO
Tonya also featured on Dan Patrick's show, and was also on two
Canadian radio stations, CJAD of Montreal and CFRB Toronto. Matt,
the Australian guy who did the cover design and layout for
Tonya's book, has uploaded a couple of these radio interviews to
YouTube, the first from CFRB Toronto on May 30th and the second
from Dan Patrick's show on the 21st. He has also assembled a
montage of photos from the book to go with each one, many of
which have never been published on-line before as far as I can
tell:
Tonya Harding & Lynda Prouse int. Jim Richards CFRB Toronto Radio
053008
Part 1 of 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDDJ56mHtx8
Part 2 of 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIf5InHuLY0
Because of YouTube's limit on 10 min movies, the Dan Patrick
interview is divided into 2 parts:
Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwAOXI1gUks
Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4JX0cFHUOw
It can also be found on his site:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/danpatrick/listenlive.player.html?file=http://ht.cdn.turner.com/si/danpatrick/audio/2008/05/21/DP_Hr3_05-21-2008_stream.mp3
CTV CANADA
Here's one Tonya and Lynda Prouse did with CTV Canada back on May
20th:
http://watch.ctv.ca/news/top-picks/#clip53880
CBS EARLY SHOW
An appearance on the CBS "Early Show" is particularly interesting
in that it shows Tonya skating - this must be the first footage
we've seen of her on the ice for at least a couple of years.
Looks like she's back coaching too:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/24/earlyshow/leisure/celebspot/main4205128.shtml
Of even more interest is a brief clip of Tonya skating at age 6:
this would have to have been shot around 1977! Almost surely the
oldest motion picture film or video footage of Tonya in
existence! The circumstances of how it was shot is unknown.
TONYA ON ABC
Tonya also appeared on ABC's 20/20 recently, talking about life
since the Olympics. Unfortunately, it does not appear to be on-
line, apart from a preview clip, which does not feature Tonya:
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=5678164&page=1
ARTICLES
There's also been a few articles. This first one, by Barry Wilner
of the Associated Press, has been widely reprinted:
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/18992234.html
http://blogs.usatoday.com/gameon/2008/05/tonya-harding-l.html
This article has an excerpt from the book:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05182008/news/nationalnews/skater_tonyas_rape_shocker_111421.htm
This is also available as an image file at: http://worldaudience.powweb.com/pubs_bks/POST.jpg
Also a big article in Newsweek. Gillooly has finally crawled out
from under his rock to respond, and is talking about suing
publisher World Audience:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/138228
TONYA IN KENTUCKY
Here's an item about a visit by Tonya to Kentucky back in late
July that was shot by a local TV station:
http://www.wbko.com/news/headlines/25953344.html
She seems to be looking better than ever, and appears to have
lost more weight. She kicked the reporter's ass at pool, too.
TONYA CONTINUES ON TRUTV'S "WORLD'S DUMBEST" SERIES
Tonya's also back on TV in more episodes of TruTV's "World's
Dumbest" series. Some of the clips that Tonya did for this have
now surfaced on YouTube:
World's Dumbest Criminals 5:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx5ndpuerbg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ag-HgIKaCM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ytqy36bXqXY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQ4_yW8bu3M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctT1VxgSqHA
World's Dumbest Partiers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwx2_ILPJwU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFY4w7ObYPs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7Avnetyt1Y
In this one, a burglar breaks into a pizza restaurant and steals
the tip jar (ignoring the cash register next to it), then bashes
his head into the door getting out, forgetting he'd actually
entered through the other side:
Tip Trip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8N_2wurDh0
Which raises the question: is this guy related to Shane Stant?
TONYA TRIVIA QUESTION
This also brings us to our Tonya trivia question. In our last
issue, we asked what the connection was between Tonya and her
four fellow panelists on TruTV's "World's Dumbest" series
(apart from the obvious one of all having had run-ins with the
law).
Danny Bonaduce featured on Fox's Celebrity Boxing with her in
2002. Amy Fisher was supposed to box Tonya on that show, but was
replaced by Paula Jones at the last minute, and Leif Garrett
appeared on "The Weakest Link" with her in 2001. Todd Bridges
actually has two connections - he appeared with Tonya on BOTH
"Celebrity Boxing" AND the same "Weakest Link" episode.
ATLANTA BAND WRITES TONYA SONG
The Coathangers are a four-girl band from Atlanta, Georgia, who
have written a song about Tonya. The song comes from their self-
titled debut album, which includes other tracks with names like
"Nestle In My Boobies" and "Don't Touch My S..t!". Although
described by themselves as "punk", their style is more
reminiscent of late 70's/early 80's New Wave acts from the same
area of the country, such as the B52's. There's a music video
(which, oddly enough, doesn't feature any images of Tonya):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6M2RgvevZA
and also a live performance, recorded at the the Entertainment
Research lab at Georgia State University (in stereo):
http://www.dailymotion.com/tag/coathangers/video/x5zhqt_the-coathangerstonya-harding_music
A higher quality version of this can be downloaded from here, but
it's big (93 megs) so don't bother trying if you haven't got a
broadband connection:
http://blip.tv/file/get/Entertainmentresearch-TheCoathangersTonyaHarding979.mp4
Alas, it seems that the lyrics aren't very pro-Tonya:
http://lyrics.astraweb.com/display/874/coathangers..coathangers..tonya_harding.html
Which is a shame, as it's a really cool sounding song. But who
listens to the lyrics of pop music anyway?
http://www.thecoathangers.com/index2.html
YEAH, SHE'S SO DULL, COME ON, RIP HER TO SHREDS: IS SARAH PALIN
THE REAL TONYA HARDING CANDIDATE?
It seems that the media and the candidates just can't keep
themselves from dragging Tonya into the U.S. Presidential
campaign.
In the past few months we've heard candidates use Tonya's name
numerous times when describing their opponents. We've heard the
media speculate that Hillary Clinton is going to use "the Tonya
Harding option" (sic - really the Jeff Gillooly option) to deal
with Obama. The arrival of Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin on the
scene as Republican candidate John McCain's running mate has,
however, resulted in a new and lurid low in the campaign rhetoric
that invites comparison with Tonya in other, more disturbing
ways.
Palin's nomination has caused an eruption of vitriolic bile
reminiscent of the reaction caused by Mentos dropped into a
bottle of Coke. We're not just talking about the normal scrutiny
that someone seeking such a top job should reasonably expect, but
vile, emotive, personal attacks. Her critics have done pretty
much everything except burn her at the stake - and we suspect the
only reason they haven't done that is because they're probably
worried about the carbon emissions. Indeed, conservatives have
now coined a term for it: PDS, or Palin Derangement Syndrome,
which seems to be an irrational fear and loathing for anything to
do with Ms. Palin. A closer examination, however, shows that PDS
bears more than a passing resemblance to an equivalent condition
that exists in the figure skating world known to us as
"Tonyaphobia" - an irrational fear and loathing for all things
Tonya. Since her nomination, Ms. Palin has, like Tonya:
- been attacked for her social class backgroound;
- been subjected to sexist comments because she doesn't fit into
a supposedly desirable existing female stereotype;
- had her e-mail account hacked, and the conntents published by
paparazzi sites;
- been the victim of a biased, inaccurate smmear campaign by the
media.
For a start, Palin has been attacked because she is, like Tonya,
a self-confessed "redneck" from a small rural town, as if this
alone makes her unsuitable for high office.
That Palin is a redneck seems to be beyond doubt: her love of
traditional redneck activities such as hunting and fishing are
well documented and she herself seems to have no objection to the
term. Much is made of the fact that she knows how to "field
strip" a moose. Some years ago she formed a business called
"Rouge Cou", literally "red neck", and refers to herself proudly
as "valley trash", a reference to the Mat-Su valley area of
Alaska that she hails from, which is apparently Anchorage's
answer to Portland's Clackamas County. Nor is this confined to
Palin herself. Her future son-in-law described himself on a now
deleted blog as a "f...ing redneck", and her husband, who refers
to himself as the "First Dude", races snowmobiles.
However, it seems that Palin is being subjected to the same kind
of classist bigotry that Tonya had to put up with in the elitist
world of figure skating. Already the Washington snobs are
sneering down their noses at the Palins as a Northern version of
the Clampetts from the "Beverly Hillbillies". She's been labeled
"trailer trash" because she wears hoop earrings (despite the fact
that upmarket stores like Nieman Marcus sell hoop earrings for
$12,000). Film critic Richard Roeper referred to her as
resembling "Ted Nugent with a uterus" - clearly this guy needs a
new pair of glasses (preferably the trendy frameless type that
Palin wears). On September 5th, Heather Mallick, a web site
columnist for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, described
Palin's supporters as "white trash," compared the vice
presidential candidate to a "porn actress" and called her
daughter's boyfriend a "redneck" and "ratboy." The column has
provoked a host of complaints from both sides of the border:
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/273287.php
Meanwhile, a few quick Google searches turn up the
following results:
"Sarah Palin" and "redneck" - approx 76500 hits
"Sarah Palin" and "white trash" - 23900 hits
"Sarah Palin" and "trailer trash" - 18600 hits
"Sarah Palin" and "valley trash" - 213 hits
Some are even comparing Palin to Tonya herself. And what's most
puzzling is that they actually seem to think that that's a BAD
THING!:
http://usliberals.about.com/b/2008/09/04/sarah-palin-the-tanya-harding-of-republican-politics.htm (ever notice how so many of these Tonyaphobic bozos can't spell her name properly?)
http://tracelesswarrior.blogspot.com/2008/09/john-mccain-chooses-tonya-harding-of.html
Barry Crimmins, in a comment that seems to have been widely
repeated elsewhere, describes her as "Tonya Harding with a
speechwriter".
http://www.barrycrimmins.com/index.php?page=news&display=1340
Then there's this clown at: http://unqualified-reservations.blogspot.com/2008/08/sarah-palin-proletarian-candidate.html who says:
And Sarah! Sarah! Sarah is the Prole to end all Proles. She is
practically an Arch-Prole. Look at that hair, girl! Does it
say bridge in the front and tunnel in the back, or is it the
other way around? I also love the fact that the only scandal
they can dig up on her is one involving the fact that her ex-
brother-in-law threatened to "put a bullet in" her father. If
Governor Palin turns out to be in some way related to Tonya
Harding, I shan't be in the least surprised. Dear!
Does this tosser sound like a complete poseur or what? We're
never impressed by people who seem to think that the trendiness
of someone's hairstyle is somehow an important measure of their
worth. It generally says much more about the person making the
jibe than the target, and it isn't anything very flattering.
Notice also how many of these knuckleheads have Obama banners on
their sites. Do they really think they're doing their candidate a
favor with this stuff?
She's also been the victim of blatant sexism unheard of in public
these days outside of an episode of "Mad Men", oddly enough,
often coming from women. "Her greatest hypocrisy is in her
pretense that she is a woman" says Wendy Doniger, a Professor at
the University of Chicago's Divinity School. Gee, Wendy, who gave
you the right to decide what a "woman" is or isn't? South
Carolina Democratic chairwoman Carol Fowler also attacked Palin,
saying McCain had chosen a running mate "whose primary
qualification seems to be that she hasn't had an abortion." So-
called "comedian" Sandra Bernhardt let loose with a tirade
implying that Palin would raped by black men if she visited
Harlem - it seems that racist stereotypes and jokes about rape
that would never be deemed acceptable from a white man are just
hunky-dory if you're an "avant gard perfomance artist". Much of
this seems to be because as a wife, mother and former beauty
contestant she doesn't fit in with the politically correct idea
of what a successful woman should be, just like Tonya was
pilloried because she didn't fit the traditional "ice-princess"
mold of female figure skaters as defined by the USFSA.
Earlier this week Palin's Yahoo! e-mail account was hacked, and
the information was then forwarded to well-know sleazerazzi site
Gawker, which published this illegally obtained material. It's
pretty much a repeat of what happened to Tonya at the Lillehammer
games, when several "journalists", some from supposedly
respectable well-known news outlets, broke into Tonya's account
on the Olympic computer system. The Lillehammer hackers got away
scot free, rather than being fired or prosecuted, however the
Palin hacker may not be so lucky: unlike Tonya, Palin has the
Secret Service to find the culprits, and since he's obviously an
honors graduate of the Shawn Eckardt school of spycraft (rule #1:
always brag about your exploits to as many people as possible)
he's left a nice messy trail of cyber-evidence that has already
led the Men In Black directly to his door pretty quickly.
In addition, Palin has also been subjected to outright lies and
absurdities, such as the preposterous claim that her Down-
syndrome baby Trig is actually her daughter's. Others have
circulated anonymous, unverified slurs claiming she's a racist
who refered to Obama as "Sambo" and who makes snide comments
about Eskimos (ignoring, of course, the fact that her husband is
part Eskimo). A fake list of books that she allegedly tried to
have banned from the local library (some of which - like the
Harry Potter series - weren't even published at the time) has
been circulated. In a recent article in Newsweek, Factcheck.org
states:
"We've been flooded for the past few days with queries about
dubious Internet postings and mass e-mail messages making
claims about McCain's running mate, Gov. Palin. We find that
many are completely false, or misleading."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/157986/output/print
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/sliming_palin.html
Her recent interview with Charles Gibson was heavily edited to
make her look stupid and glib. The full transcript can be found
here:
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/09/13/abc-news-edited-out-key-parts-sarah-palin-interview
Thoughtful, considered answers were left on the floor - obviously
thought to be too mentally taxing for the ten-second attention
spans of today's audiences by the show's producers. She was
ambushed with a question about something called the "Bush
Doctrine", a vaguely-defined term that is not in current
widespread use and that even President Bush himself doesn't use.
Where the heck is Howard Beale
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dib2-HBsF08) when you need him to
add some integrity back into TV journalism?
Headlines quoted executive Carly Fiorina as saying that Palin was
unqualified to run a major corporation, which, although a correct
quote, ignored that fact that she'd actually said that NONE of
the other major candidates were qualified either.
It's old stuff for Tonyaphiles, who are used to the biased "get-
Tonya-at-all-costs" mentality of the mainstream media. Even the
media are getting concerned about the extent of the personal
abuse:
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NjY4ODg3ZjA2ZDQwZjI3NTM1MGY3ZGE0YmM3NmJmN2Y=
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/09/17/enough_of_the_palin_feeding_frenzy/
The PDXISS would never be arrogant enough to tell people in a
foreign country who to vote for in their elections. But we do
have this advice: do your own research, and make up your own
mind. Don't let some Hollyweirdo celebrity tell you who to vote
for, and don't believe every silly rumor that you hear on-line
when making up your mind about Sarah Palin, because, as with
Tonya, you're not getting the real deal about her from the
mainstream media. It is clear that Palin is being "Tonya-ized" by
the media. Two sites that you should definitely check out apart
from the abovementioned Factcheck.org are:
http://chrisofrights.blogspot.com/2008/09/vetting-sarah-palin.html
http://explorations.chasrmartin.com/2008/09/06/palin-rumors/
There are many questions that surround Ms. Palin's suitability to
be Vice President, such as her lack of foreign policy experience
(and no, the fact that you live in a state that's next door to
Russia doesn't count), her flip-flopping on the matter of the so-
called "bridge to nowhere", and her policies on environmental
issues to name a few. These are genuine issues for the press and
her opponents to explore. However, she deserves to be judged on
her policies and experience (or lack thereof), not on the basis
of lies, innuendo, her humble origins, or what type of earrings
she wears. In the sense that this is what's happening, then Sarah
Palin really is the "Tonya Harding candidate" in this election.
All this makes us wonder whether perhaps Tonya should move to
Alaska. She certainly wouldn't be the first person with a
troubled past to move up there to make a fresh start. It sounds
very much like Oregon, only more so. Sarah could teach Tonya how
to disembowel a moose carcass, and Tonya could teach her how to
fix a whiny differential in a pickup truck in return. Of course,
if that happened, we'd have to rename ourselves as "The
Anchoragian" or "The Fairbanksian", or perhaps even "The
Juneauvian"?
*****************************************************************
VISIT THESE GREAT TONYA WEB SITES:
PortIce - http://www.geocities.com/portice
David House - http://www.tonyaharding.org
Charlie Main - http://www.charliesweb.com/tonya/tonya.html
Puppetboy - http://www.usapaul.net/tonya/
Valerie Smith - http://www.olywa.net/radu/valerie/LilHam.html
Swan Lake - http://members.tripod.com/~TonyaHarding/index.html
Blades of Gold - http://members.tripod.com/tmhfan/index.html
*****************************************************************
Back to Portlandian index
Back to PortIce Home Page
This page hosted by
Get your own Free Home Page